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

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 269,200 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the March 15th total of 344,300 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 52,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lifetime Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Lifetime Brands from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

Shares of LCUT remained flat at $3.81 during mid-day trading on Friday. 76,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 66,998. The company has a market cap of $84.44 million, a PE ratio of -3.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.56. Lifetime Brands has a 1 year low of $3.72 and a 1 year high of $11.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $215.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.60 million. Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 3.19%. On average, analysts forecast that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0425 per share. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -23.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Lifetime Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 294,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Lifetime Brands by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares in the last quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 331,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,962,000 after buying an additional 96,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 4,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

About Lifetime Brands

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.