Short Interest in Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) Declines By 31.7%

Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 153,200 shares, a decline of 31.7% from the December 15th total of 224,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 152,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Luxfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LXFR. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Luxfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Luxfer during the third quarter worth approximately $130,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Luxfer in the second quarter worth approximately $133,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Luxfer in the third quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Luxfer by 75.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 19,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 8,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Luxfer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Luxfer Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:LXFR traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $13.73. 161,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,359. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Luxfer has a 1-year low of $7.55 and a 1-year high of $15.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.73 and its 200-day moving average is $12.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.88.

Luxfer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Luxfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 157.58%.

About Luxfer

Luxfer Holdings PLC, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance materials, components, and high-pressure gas containment devices for defense and first response, healthcare, transportation, and general industrial applications. The company operates through three segments: Elektron, Gas Cylinders, and graphic Arts.