Short Interest in Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Expands By 9.0%

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 67,600 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 62,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 80,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LCUT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 132,895 shares of the company's stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,308,005 shares of the company's stock worth $16,795,000 after acquiring an additional 15,440 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 633,633 shares of the company's stock worth $8,136,000 after acquiring an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 256,175 shares of the company's stock worth $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 79,500 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. 40.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifetime Brands Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LCUT traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.20. 169,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 79,616. The firm has a market cap of $222.46 million, a P/E ratio of -26.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.48. Lifetime Brands has a 52-week low of $4.31 and a 52-week high of $11.08. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.53.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.03). Lifetime Brands had a negative net margin of 1.23% and a positive return on equity of 4.84%. The company had revenue of $203.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $196.48 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lifetime Brands will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.043 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Lifetime Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently -43.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LCUT. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Lifetime Brands from $9.50 to $11.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Lifetime Brands from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Lifetime Brands from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a report on Monday, March 11th.

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.

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