Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Short Interest Up 232.0% in July

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 297,100 shares, a growth of 232.0% from the June 30th total of 89,500 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 96,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LCUT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Lifetime Brands from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Lifetime Brands from $11.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th.

Lifetime Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LCUT traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.02. 37,920 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,231. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.34. Lifetime Brands has a one year low of $4.86 and a one year high of $11.68. The stock has a market cap of $199.07 million, a PE ratio of -33.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.06). Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 4.63% and a negative net margin of 0.86%. The company had revenue of $142.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lifetime Brands will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.043 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -62.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 22.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 151,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 28,104 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Lifetime Brands by 20.9% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 180,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares during the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management lifted its position in Lifetime Brands by 81.1% during the first quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 18,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 8,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lifetime Brands by 13.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 264,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 30,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Lifetime Brands during the first quarter valued at $726,000. 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.