Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,100 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 9,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Friedman Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Friedman Industries Price Performance

Shares of FRD stock opened at $13.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.23 million, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.41. Friedman Industries has a one year low of $13.40 and a one year high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.50 per share, with a total value of $27,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 164,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,216,079. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,180 shares of company stock worth $100,655 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRD. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 70,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 419,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. 33.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Friedman Industries Company Profile

Friedman Industries, Incorporated engages in steel processing, pipe manufacturing and processing, and the steel and pipe distribution businesses the United States. It operates in two segments, Coil and Tubular. The Coil segment is involved in the conversion of steel coils into flat sheet and plate steel cut to customer specifications and reselling steel coils.