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

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

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 184,506. 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 0.85 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifetime Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Lifetime Brands by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Lifetime Brands by 7.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 108,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lifetime Brands by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 243,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 8,820 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Lifetime Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.