Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 548,814 shares, a growth of 63.4% from the August 15th total of 335,894 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 345,213 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Luxfer Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LXFR stock opened at $17.21 on Thursday. Luxfer has a 12 month low of $11.26 and a 12 month high of $19.45. The company has a market cap of $460.67 million, a PE ratio of 57.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.65.

Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.30 million. Luxfer had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 12.22%. Equities analysts predict that Luxfer will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Luxfer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Luxfer’s payout ratio is currently 173.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Luxfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LXFR. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Luxfer by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,802,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 26,046 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Luxfer by 6.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 976,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,898,000 after acquiring an additional 58,197 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Luxfer by 17.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 488,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,947,000 after acquiring an additional 70,989 shares during the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. increased its position in Luxfer by 0.7% during the first quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 342,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Luxfer by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 137,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 24,003 shares during the last quarter. 90.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LXFR. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Luxfer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Luxfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Luxfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Luxfer in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Luxfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Luxfer

Luxfer plc is a manufacturer of high-performance materials and engineered products. The company develops and produces gas cylinders, magnesium alloys and other specialty materials for customers in healthcare, industrial, transportation, aerospace, defense, fire protection and consumer markets.

Through its gas-cylinder operations, Luxfer supplies lightweight aluminum, composite and other high-pressure cylinders used for medical oxygen, breathing air, alternative fuels, scuba diving, fire suppression and industrial gases.