Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Short Interest Update

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 269,200 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the March 15th total of 344,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 52,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Lifetime Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ LCUT traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3.69. 50,175 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 66,963. Lifetime Brands has a 1-year low of $3.66 and a 1-year high of $11.68. The company has a market cap of $81.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $4.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 3.19%. The business had revenue of $215.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.60 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0425 per share. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Lifetime Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -23.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LCUT. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifetime Brands in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,016 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 294,291 shares of the company's stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 101,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin & Co. Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 331,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 96,816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LCUT shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Lifetime Brands from $6.75 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Lifetime Brands from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lifetime Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

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.