Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Issues Earnings Results

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 20.68%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co. updated its FY24 guidance to $1.17-1.27 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 1.170-1.270 EPS.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,410,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,452,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.13 and a 200 day moving average of $16.02. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $22.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 154.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LEVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $708,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 179,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,588,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $708,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 179,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,588,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 10,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $208,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 169,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,380,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,712 shares of company stock valued at $2,965,985 over the last 90 days. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEVI. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 36,330 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 10,498 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 438,865 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $8,672,000 after buying an additional 30,089 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 79,770 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 21,916 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 324,332 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $6,413,000 after purchasing an additional 54,109 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 119,376 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.