Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) Upgraded to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Lifetime Brands' stock rating has been upgraded to a "strong sell" by Zacks Research, indicating a negative outlook from analysts.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.50), significantly missing analysts' estimates, along with a revenue of $131.86 million, also below expectations.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Lifetime Brands during the second quarter, with 40.62% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT - Free Report) to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday, August 12th,Zacks.com reports.

LCUT has been the topic of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Lifetime Brands from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifetime Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.50.

Lifetime Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LCUT traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.78. 21,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.71 million, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.63. Lifetime Brands has a 52-week low of $2.89 and a 52-week high of $7.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.37 and a 200-day moving average of $4.34.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.33). Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 0.12% and a negative net margin of 5.16%.The firm had revenue of $131.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 million. Analysts forecast that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $0.0425 dividend. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Lifetime Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Lifetime Brands by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 908,722 shares of the company's stock worth $4,634,000 after acquiring an additional 130,650 shares during the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifetime Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,054,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. JB Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Lifetime Brands by 9.0% in the second quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,577,852 shares of the company's stock worth $7,968,000 after purchasing an additional 130,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin & Co. Inc. TN increased its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 1.3% in the second quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 525,757 shares of the company's stock worth $2,681,000 after buying an additional 6,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.62% of the company's stock.

Lifetime Brands Company Profile

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.