Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) Short Interest Down 44.9% in December

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCUT) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 106,065 shares, a decline of 44.9% from the December 15th total of 192,612 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 39,970 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 39,970 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JB Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Lifetime Brands by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,587,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 913,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lifetime Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 243,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 8,820 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Lifetime Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LCUT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Lifetime Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lifetime Brands from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifetime Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Lifetime Brands Trading Down 3.7%

Lifetime Brands stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.90. The stock had a trading volume of 17,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,556. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.37 million, a PE ratio of -2.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.96. Lifetime Brands has a twelve month low of $2.89 and a twelve month high of $6.82.

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. Lifetime Brands had a negative return on equity of 0.85% and a negative net margin of 5.49%.The company had revenue of $171.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.76 million. Analysts expect that Lifetime Brands will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Lifetime Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.0425 per share. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Lifetime Brands’s payout ratio is currently -10.24%.

About Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, sources, manufactures and distributes a broad portfolio of consumer products for the home. Headquartered in Garden City, New York, the company operates three primary business segments—Kitchenware, Tabletop & Home Décor and Tools & Storage—providing solutions for food preparation, cooking, serving and storage under both proprietary and licensed brand names.

In the Kitchenware segment, Lifetime Brands offers cookware, bakeware, cutlery and small electric appliances under brands such as Farberware and Chef’sChoice.