Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LCUT. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Lifetime Brands in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on Lifetime Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lifetime Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.25.

Lifetime Brands Stock Up 11.7%

Lifetime Brands stock opened at $4.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.57 and a 200-day moving average of $3.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Lifetime Brands has a twelve month low of $2.89 and a twelve month high of $5.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.53 million, a PE ratio of -3.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.29.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $204.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.09 million. Lifetime Brands had a negative net margin of 4.16% and a positive return on equity of 4.66%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.0425 dividend. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is presently -13.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LCUT. RBF Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lifetime Brands during the second quarter worth $2,054,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 908,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,634,000 after acquiring an additional 130,650 shares during the period. JB Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,577,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,968,000 after purchasing an additional 130,231 shares during the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $381,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 388.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 41,191 shares during the period. 40.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, sources, manufactures and distributes a broad portfolio of consumer products for the home. Headquartered in Garden City, New York, the company operates three primary business segments—Kitchenware, Tabletop & Home Décor and Tools & Storage—providing solutions for food preparation, cooking, serving and storage under both proprietary and licensed brand names.

In the Kitchenware segment, Lifetime Brands offers cookware, bakeware, cutlery and small electric appliances under brands such as Farberware and Chef’sChoice.