Short Interest in Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) Grows By 51.8%

Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 146,200 shares, a growth of 51.8% from the February 13th total of 96,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 136,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Luxfer Stock Performance

Shares of LXFR stock remained flat at $12.12 during trading hours on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 133,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $324.11 million, a PE ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.26. Luxfer has a 12-month low of $9.26 and a 12-month high of $15.64.

Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $103.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.50 million. Luxfer had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Luxfer will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Luxfer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Luxfer’s payout ratio is 76.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Luxfer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Luxfer by 1.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,725,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,299,000 after purchasing an additional 43,559 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Luxfer by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,272,000 after buying an additional 603,954 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Luxfer by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,624,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,259,000 after buying an additional 275,669 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in Luxfer by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 785,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,282,000 after buying an additional 115,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Luxfer by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 670,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,778,000 after buying an additional 84,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.82% of the company’s stock.

Luxfer Company Profile

Luxfer Holdings PLC, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance materials, components, and high-pressure gas containment devices for defense and first response, healthcare, transportation, and general industrial applications. The company operates through three segments: Elektron, Gas Cylinders, and graphic Arts.