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

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

Lifetime Brands Trading Down 6.7 %

LCUT opened at $9.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.81 and its 200 day moving average is $7.59. Lifetime Brands has a 12-month low of $4.31 and a 12-month high of $11.08.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $203.14 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lifetime Brands will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.043 dividend. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is -43.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 132,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 1.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,308,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,795,000 after purchasing an additional 15,440 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 633,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,136,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 2.0% during the first quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 256,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 10.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 79,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

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.