Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) to Issue $0.13 Quarterly Dividend

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the blue-jean maker on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio of 33.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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. Price Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $19.01 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.52 and a 200 day moving average of $18.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 26.00%. On average, research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,875,204. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.36.

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.