Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Up 7.4% in January

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other Friedman Industries news, CEO Mike J. Taylor purchased 1,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.50 per share, for a total transaction of $28,710.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 166,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,408,943. This represents a 1.21 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 8,380 shares of company stock worth $117,772 in the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Friedman Industries by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 53,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 11.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 419,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after buying an additional 11,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 worth $8,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the period. 33.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

Friedman Industries stock opened at $15.30 on Tuesday. Friedman Industries has a 12 month low of $13.40 and a 12 month high of $19.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Friedman Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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.