Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) Short Interest Up 63.4% in August

Key Points

• Luxfer’s short interest jumped 63.4% to 548,814 shares by August 31, representing 2.1% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.6.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% of Luxfer’s stock, while analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.
• Luxfer exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.29 in earnings per share and $95.7 million in revenue; it also pays a $0.13 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 3.0% annually.

Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 548,814 shares, an increase of 63.4% from the August 15th total of 335,894 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 345,213 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Luxfer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Luxfer by 63.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Luxfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Luxfer during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P acquired a new stake in shares of Luxfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Luxfer during the 1st quarter valued at about $146,000. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Luxfer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Freedom Capital raised Luxfer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Luxfer in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Luxfer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Luxfer Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LXFR stock opened at $17.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market cap of $460.67 million, a PE ratio of 57.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $17.10 and its 200-day moving average is $15.65. Luxfer has a 1 year low of $11.26 and a 1 year high of $19.45.

Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.30 million. Luxfer had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 12.22%. Equities analysts expect that Luxfer will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Luxfer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Luxfer's payout ratio is presently 173.33%.

Luxfer Company Profile

Luxfer plc is a manufacturer of high-performance materials and engineered products. The company develops and produces gas cylinders, magnesium alloys and other specialty materials for customers in healthcare, industrial, transportation, aerospace, defense, fire protection and consumer markets.

Through its gas-cylinder operations, Luxfer supplies lightweight aluminum, composite and other high-pressure cylinders used for medical oxygen, breathing air, alternative fuels, scuba diving, fire suppression and industrial gases.

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