Short Interest in Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) Drops By 41.1%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 41.1% to 410,369 shares as of March 31, representing about 1.6% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of roughly 1.0 days.
• Institutions hold the bulk of the stock (90.82%), with major managers like Artisan, American Century, Earnest and Nuveen meaningfully increasing their positions in recent quarters.
• Luxfer declared a $0.13 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.52, ~4.0% yield) despite a high payout ratio of 179.31%, and analyst coverage is mixed with an average rating of "Reduce."

Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 410,369 shares, a decline of 41.1% from the March 15th total of 697,107 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 421,797 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Luxfer

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LXFR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Luxfer by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,662,442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,108,000 after acquiring an additional 258,957 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Luxfer by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,589,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $22,094,000 after acquiring an additional 180,199 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Luxfer by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 837,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,330,000 after acquiring an additional 167,023 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Luxfer by 332.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 177,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 136,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC increased its holdings in Luxfer by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 300,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 134,120 shares in the last quarter. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LXFR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Luxfer in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Luxfer from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Luxfer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Luxfer has an average rating of "Reduce".

Luxfer Price Performance

Shares of LXFR stock remained flat at $13.08 during mid-day trading on Monday. 14,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 197,003. Luxfer has a 1 year low of $9.46 and a 1 year high of $16.02. The firm has a market cap of $348.45 million, a P/E ratio of 45.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $13.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.43.

Luxfer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Luxfer's payout ratio is currently 179.31%.

About Luxfer

Luxfer Gas Cylinders, trading as Luxfer NYSE: LXFR, is a global manufacturer specializing in high-performance, lightweight gas cylinders. The company produces both aluminium and composite cylinders designed to store and transport high-pressure gases for industrial, medical, diving, firefighting and defense applications. Its portfolio includes seamless aluminium cylinders, wrapped composite cylinders and pressure vessel components tailored to meet stringent safety and performance standards.

Founded on more than a century of materials expertise originating from the Luxfer Graphic Magnesium Company established in 1898, Luxfer has evolved into a leader in cylinder innovation.

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