Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Short Interest Down 67.7% in March

by · The Cerbat Gem

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUTGet Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 121,340 shares, a decline of 67.7% from the March 15th total of 375,698 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 206,155 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Lifetime Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LCUT. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 7.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 108,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands in the second quarter valued at about $88,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 16.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 908,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,634,000 after purchasing an additional 130,650 shares during the period. Truffle Hound Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 12.8% in the third quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 22,679 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. 40.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Read Our Latest Report on Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ LCUT traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $7.52. 210,128 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.21 and its 200 day moving average is $3.90. Lifetime Brands has a 52 week low of $2.89 and a 52 week high of $7.82. The company has a market capitalization of $170.33 million, a PE ratio of -6.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUTGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.87. Lifetime Brands had a negative net margin of 4.16% and a positive return on equity of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $204.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.09 million. Research analysts anticipate that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.0425 per share. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -13.71%.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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