Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Short Interest Update

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 150,065 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 31st total of 121,340 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 227,362 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LCUT. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 41,191 shares during the period. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

Lifetime Brands Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LCUT traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.71. The stock had a trading volume of 69,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,460. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a market cap of $153.32 million, a PE ratio of -5.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.92. Lifetime Brands has a 12-month low of $2.89 and a 12-month high of $8.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.26 and its 200-day moving average is $4.22.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $204.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Lifetime Brands will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.0425 dividend. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -13.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LCUT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lifetime Brands to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Lifetime Brands from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of Lifetime Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Lifetime Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

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.