Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 331,600 shares, a growth of 34.5% from the April 30th total of 246,500 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 87,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAKE shares. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Lakeland Industries in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Lakeland Industries from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Industries to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 1,007,391 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $25,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Lakeland Industries by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 931,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $18,927,000 after acquiring an additional 79,940 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Industries by 3.8% during the first quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,052,000 after buying an additional 10,992 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Industries by 85.1% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 276,688 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,620,000 after buying an additional 127,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Industries by 1,720.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 114,017 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 107,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.69% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Industries Price Performance

LAKE stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $18.57. 20,852 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 88,707. Lakeland Industries has a 1-year low of $14.58 and a 1-year high of $27.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -206.28 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.56 and a 200-day moving average of $21.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $46.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.10 million. Lakeland Industries had a negative net margin of 0.42% and a positive return on equity of 1.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lakeland Industries will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Lakeland Industries's payout ratio is -5.04%.

About Lakeland Industries

Lakeland Industries, Inc manufactures and sells industrial protective clothing and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market worldwide. It offers firefighting and heat protective apparel to protect against fire; high-end chemical protective suits to provide protection from highly concentrated, toxic and/or lethal chemicals, and biological toxins; and limited use/disposable protective clothing, such as coveralls, laboratory coats, shirts, pants, hoods, aprons, sleeves, arm guards, caps, and smocks.