Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 12th

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the blue-jean maker on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th.

Levi Strauss & Co. has raised its dividend by an average of 24.4% per year over the last three years. Levi Strauss & Co. has a dividend payout ratio of 33.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Levi Strauss & Co. to earn $1.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.1%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $19.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.52 and its 200 day moving average is $18.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $15.62 and a 1 year high of $24.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 3.32%. Equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

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.