Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $15.45 and last traded at $15.46, with a volume of 752627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEVI has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $152,672,000 after buying an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $115,444,000 after buying an additional 81,435 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 669,624 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $32,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.