Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) to Issue $0.12 Quarterly Dividend

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 3rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of 0.12 per share by the blue-jean maker on Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th.

Levi Strauss & Co. has raised its dividend by an average of 44.2% annually over the last three years. Levi Strauss & Co. has a payout ratio of 32.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Levi Strauss & Co. to earn $1.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $22.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.52, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.43. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $22.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.19.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. 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 return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,588,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 179,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,588,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 10,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $208,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 267,212 shares of company stock valued at $5,437,220. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.56.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.