Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) Short Interest Down 8.7% in March

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,600 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the March 15th total of 40,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LAKE. TheStreet raised shares of Lakeland Industries from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lakeland Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAKE. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Industries in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Lakeland Industries by 64.2% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Industries during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Lakeland Industries by 511.9% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in Lakeland Industries by 28.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 9,729 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178 shares during the last quarter. 71.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Industries Price Performance

LAKE traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $15.76. 74,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,069. The company has a current ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $116.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44 and a beta of 0.47. Lakeland Industries has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $19.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.41.

Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $31.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.50 million. Lakeland Industries had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 6.63%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Industries will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Lakeland Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.90%.

About Lakeland Industries

Lakeland Industries, Inc manufactures and sells industrial protective clothing and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market worldwide. It offers firefighting and heat protective apparel to protect against fire; high-end chemical protective suits to provide protection from highly concentrated, toxic and/or lethal chemicals, and biological toxins; and limited use/disposable protective clothing, such as coveralls, laboratory coats, shirts, pants, hoods, aprons, sleeves, arm guards, caps, and smocks.