Short Interest in Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Declines By 6.1%

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,400 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 34,500 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 40,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LCUT has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price objective on shares of Lifetime Brands in a report on Monday, August 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lifetime Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LCUT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 217,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 49.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 533.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.38% of the company’s stock.

Lifetime Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LCUT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.51. The company had a trading volume of 48,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,555. The company has a market capitalization of $141.98 million, a PE ratio of -17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.24. Lifetime Brands has a one year low of $4.31 and a one year high of $10.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.62.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 4.08% and a negative net margin of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $191.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.68 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Lifetime Brands will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.043 per share. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. This is a positive change from Lifetime Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 31st. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is presently -45.95%.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

Lifetime Brands, Inc designs, sources, and sells branded kitchenware, tableware, and other products for use in the home in the United States and internationally. 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.