Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 212,400 shares, a growth of 81.2% from the January 31st total of 117,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 74,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Lakeland Industries Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:LAKE opened at $23.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -257.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 4.23. Lakeland Industries has a 1 year low of $15.10 and a 1 year high of $27.28.

Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.39). Lakeland Industries had a positive return on equity of 1.66% and a negative net margin of 0.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Industries will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Lakeland Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -133.33%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Industries

In related news, CEO James M. Jenkins purchased 990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.35 per share, for a total transaction of $25,096.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,096.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nikki Hamblin purchased 2,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.08 per share, with a total value of $51,237.60. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,094.96. The trade was a 16.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 11,208 shares of company stock worth $253,520 over the last 90 days. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Industries in the third quarter valued at $306,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Industries by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 74,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $2,018,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Industries by 4.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Industries by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Lakeland Industries from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Lakeland Industries Company Profile

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.