Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.39 EPS

Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $1.39, FiscalAI reports. Lifetime Brands had a positive return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 4.22%.The company had revenue of $141.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.64 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Lifetime Brands’ conference call:

• Q2 net sales rose 7.4% to $141.6 million, with growth led by warehouse club programs and e-commerce despite soft consumer durable markets and some shipment timing delays.
• The company recorded a $40.1 million IEEPA tariff refund, receiving approximately $36.4 million in cash to date. The benefit drove substantial year-over-year improvement in profitability, including $19.6 million of GAAP net income versus a $39.7 million loss last year.
• Lifetime raised full-year adjusted income and EBITDA guidance to $81.5 million-$84 million and $90.5 million-$93 million, respectively, while maintaining its $650 million-$700 million sales outlook. Management plans to use the refund for taxes, business reinvestment, inflation mitigation and deleveraging.
• The company has repaid $40 million of term debt since the end of the first quarter and is finalizing a refinancing expected to extend maturities to 2031, improve debt structure and reduce annual interest expense.
• The Hagerstown, Maryland distribution-center transition caused labor inefficiencies, higher costs and shipment delays, with a smaller impact expected in Q3 and full operation targeted for Q4. Management cautioned that additional disruption could push one-time start-up costs above prior estimates, while inflation, geopolitical risks and higher ocean freight remain headwinds.

Lifetime Brands Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:LCUT traded up $0.28 on Thursday, hitting $8.70. 478,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,083. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.60 and a 200-day moving average of $6.43. The stock has a market cap of $198.79 million, a PE ratio of -6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Lifetime Brands has a fifty-two week low of $2.90 and a fifty-two week high of $10.03.

Lifetime Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.0425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Lifetime Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LCUT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Lifetime Brands from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lifetime Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Lifetime Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Lifetime Brands from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lifetime Brands in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.50.

Institutional Trading of Lifetime Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Lifetime Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Lifetime Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $118,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Lifetime Brands by 388.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 41,191 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Lifetime Brands by 7.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 108,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 8,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

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.