Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) Short Interest Update

Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 96,700 shares, a growth of 57.0% from the August 31st total of 61,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 45,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Lakeland Industries from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised Lakeland Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on Lakeland Industries from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAKE. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lakeland Industries by 37.2% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Industries by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $222,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Lakeland Industries in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Finally, High Falls Advisors Inc boosted its position in Lakeland Industries by 35.8% during the second quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 19,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. 71.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Industries Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Lakeland Industries stock opened at $20.18 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.26. The firm has a market cap of $148.89 million, a PE ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.57. Lakeland Industries has a 1 year low of $13.86 and a 1 year high of $26.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.61). The company had revenue of $38.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.10 million. Lakeland Industries had a return on equity of 3.70% and a net margin of 1.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lakeland Industries will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Lakeland Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

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.