Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 2,099,751 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 2,713,688 shares. The stock last traded at $18.7550 and had previously closed at $19.51.
The blue-jean maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.560 EPS.
Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 21st will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 21st. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.51%.
Key Stories Impacting Levi Strauss & Co.
- Positive Sentiment: Levi Strauss reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.48, well above the $0.36 analyst consensus and up from $0.34 a year earlier. Stronger margins and international and wholesale growth supported profitability. Levi Strauss & Co. Reports Third-Quarter Results
- Positive Sentiment: The company raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $1.54-$1.56 from $1.46-$1.52, helped partly by tariff refunds. The refund is expected to provide approximately $80 million, although most of the benefit is being reinvested in the business. Levi Strauss Raises Earnings Outlook
- Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and assigned a $28 price target, implying substantial upside from the referenced trading level.
- Positive Sentiment: Levi Strauss declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, or $0.64 annualized, representing a yield of approximately 3.3% at the referenced price.
- Neutral Sentiment: Management is investing tariff-refund proceeds in its direct-to-consumer business and an AI shopping assistant, which could support longer-term digital sales but adds execution risk.
- Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue of $1.61 billion narrowly missed the $1.62 billion consensus, despite increasing 4.3% year over year. Fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of approximately $6.7 billion is below the $6.8 billion analyst estimate. Levi Strauss hikes profit guidance after tariff refunds
- Negative Sentiment: Direct-to-consumer revenue grew only 2%, with continued pressure in the U.S. This weakness, along with the sales outlook, appears to be outweighing the EPS beat and higher profit guidance for investors. Levi Strauss Reports Mixed Q3
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.69.
Check Out Our Latest Report on LEVI
Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.
In other news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total value of $2,377,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,652.34. This represents a 49.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,318,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $88,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,474 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 74.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 811,600 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $20,152,000 after buying an additional 345,855 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 180,423 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $4,428,000 after buying an additional 54,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.
Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 3.7%
The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.30 and a 200 day moving average of $22.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60.
About Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co is an apparel company best known for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, bottoms, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear for men, women and children.
Founded in 1853 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company also owns the Dockers, Beyond Yoga and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co brands. Levi Strauss & Co sells its products through company-operated stores, e-commerce platforms, wholesale partners and other distribution channels.
The company serves customers in North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.
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