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

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 375,698 shares, a growth of 248.9% from the February 26th total of 107,685 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 641,302 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

Shares of LCUT opened at $4.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.72. The stock has a market cap of $106.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.29. Lifetime Brands has a 52 week low of $2.89 and a 52 week high of $5.46.

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

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is currently -13.71%.

Institutional Trading of Lifetime Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LCUT. JB Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,627,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,430,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 913,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN increased its stake in Lifetime Brands by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 525,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,681,000 after buying an additional 6,943 shares in the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lifetime Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $2,054,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 3.8% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 243,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 8,820 shares during the period. 40.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lifetime Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 target price on shares of Lifetime Brands in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on Lifetime Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

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.