Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 67,600 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 62,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 80,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LCUT. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Lifetime Brands from $9.50 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Lifetime Brands from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Lifetime Brands from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

Shares of LCUT opened at $10.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Lifetime Brands has a 12 month low of $4.31 and a 12 month high of $11.08. The firm has a market cap of $222.46 million, a PE ratio of -26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $203.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.48 million. Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 4.84% and a negative net margin of 1.23%. Equities research analysts predict that Lifetime Brands will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.043 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -43.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Lifetime Brands by 533.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 489.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 604.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 49.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Lifetime Brands by 311.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 7,061 shares during the last quarter. 40.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands, Inc designs, sources, and sells branded kitchenware, tableware, and other products for use in the home in the worldwide. The company provides kitchenware products, including kitchen tools and gadgets, cutlery, kitchen scales, thermometers, cutting boards, shears, cookware, pantryware, spice racks, and bakeware; and tableware products comprising dinnerware, stemware, flatware, and giftware.