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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake 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 worth $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 31,153 shares during the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management increased its stake in Lifetime Brands by 81.1% during the first quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 18,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 8,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lifetime Brands by 13.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 264,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,773,000 after acquiring an additional 30,845 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Lifetime Brands during the first quarter worth about $726,000. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Lifetime Brands by 1.6% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 203,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. 40.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lifetime Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LCUT traded up $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $8.76. The company had a trading volume of 46,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,571. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Lifetime Brands has a 52-week low of $4.86 and a 52-week high of $11.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.26 and a 200 day moving average of $9.32. The company has a market cap of $193.33 million, a PE ratio of -32.44, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $0.043 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is currently -62.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Lifetime Brands from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Lifetime Brands from $11.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th.

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.