Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Friedman Industries Trading Down 1.9 %

Friedman Industries stock opened at $14.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.86 million, a P/E ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.37. Friedman Industries has a 12-month low of $9.50 and a 12-month high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $114.55 million during the quarter.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is 6.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other news, Director Joel Spira bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.27 per share, for a total transaction of $28,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,504 shares in the company, valued at $235,512.08. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.54 per share, for a total transaction of $82,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,927.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joel Spira bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.27 per share, for a total transaction of $28,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,512.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 18,908 shares of company stock worth $287,698 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gendell Jeffrey L lifted its stake in Friedman Industries by 16.4% during the first quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 435,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after buying an additional 61,339 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Friedman Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $343,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the first quarter valued at $425,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the first quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 4,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.26% of the company’s stock.

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.