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

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,100 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 31st total of 9,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor acquired 1,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.50 per share, with a total value of $28,710.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 166,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,408,943. This trade represents a 1.21 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 8,380 shares of company stock valued at $117,772. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,689 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 11.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 70,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 7,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Friedman Industries by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 53,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSEAMERICAN FRD opened at $15.30 on Tuesday. Friedman Industries has a twelve month low of $13.40 and a twelve month high of $19.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.64 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.40.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 6.32%. The company had revenue of $106.76 million for the quarter.

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Friedman Industries

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.