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

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 321,600 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 291,600 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 58,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ LCUT opened at $6.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.94 million, a P/E ratio of -23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.25. Lifetime Brands has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $11.68.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.58%. The firm had revenue of $141.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lifetime Brands will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.043 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -62.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LCUT. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Lifetime Brands from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lifetime Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Institutional Trading of Lifetime Brands

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lifetime Brands in the second quarter valued at $87,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Lifetime Brands by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 4,575 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Lifetime Brands by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,216,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 88.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 161,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 75,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.