Short Interest in Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) Declines By 8.7%

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,600 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the March 15th total of 40,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 19,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Lakeland Industries Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of LAKE stock opened at $15.76 on Tuesday. Lakeland Industries has a twelve month low of $10.60 and a twelve month high of $19.66. The company has a market capitalization of $116.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.08). Lakeland Industries had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 4.33%. The business had revenue of $31.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.50 million. Research analysts forecast that Lakeland Industries will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Lakeland Industries’s payout ratio is 16.90%.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAKE. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Industries by 37.4% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 9,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Industries by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,910 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Industries during the 1st quarter worth $253,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lakeland Industries by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 542,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,413,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LAKE shares. TheStreet raised shares of Lakeland Industries from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Lakeland Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

About Lakeland Industries

Lakeland Industries, Inc manufactures and sells industrial protective clothing and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market worldwide. It offers firefighting and heat protective apparel to protect against fire; high-end chemical protective suits to provide protection from highly concentrated, toxic and/or lethal chemicals, and biological toxins; and limited use/disposable protective clothing, such as coveralls, laboratory coats, shirts, pants, hoods, aprons, sleeves, arm guards, caps, and smocks.