Short Interest in Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Decreases By 44.9%

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 106,065 shares, a decline of 44.9% from the December 15th total of 192,612 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 39,970 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 39,970 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LCUT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Lifetime Brands from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lifetime Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.00.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

LCUT remained flat at $4.05 during trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 34,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,723. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.84 and a 200-day moving average of $3.98. Lifetime Brands has a 1 year low of $2.89 and a 1 year high of $6.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.77 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $171.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.76 million. Lifetime Brands had a negative net margin of 5.49% and a negative return on equity of 0.85%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.0425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,054,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $904,000. JB Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,577,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,968,000 after purchasing an additional 130,231 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Lifetime Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Martin & Co. Inc. TN lifted its stake in Lifetime Brands by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 525,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 6,943 shares during the last quarter. 40.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

Lifetime Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, sources, manufactures and distributes a broad portfolio of consumer products for the home. Headquartered in Garden City, New York, the company operates three primary business segments—Kitchenware, Tabletop & Home Décor and Tools & Storage—providing solutions for food preparation, cooking, serving and storage under both proprietary and licensed brand names.

In the Kitchenware segment, Lifetime Brands offers cookware, bakeware, cutlery and small electric appliances under brands such as Farberware and Chef’sChoice.