Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Price

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Citigroup from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.44% from the company’s current price.

LEVI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 3.5 %

LEVI stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.41. 1,660,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,071,750. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.86 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.20 and its 200 day moving average is $17.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEVI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 274.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 24,669 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 73.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 149,947 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 63,718 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at $832,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $24,512,000 after acquiring an additional 20,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 166,736 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.