Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $23.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.09, but opened at $17.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $17.34, with a volume of 1,172,348 shares trading hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $74,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 8.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 228,913 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $4,413,000 after acquiring an additional 17,889 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,923,206 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $37,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,107 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6,794.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $24,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,818 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter worth $8,552,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.06, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.