Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Price

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 6.12% from the stock’s current price.

LEVI has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.36.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $18.11 on Thursday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $15.62 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.65, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.46 and its 200 day moving average is $18.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter valued at $56,000. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. 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.