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

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,100 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the March 31st total of 11,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 19,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

Shares of FRD stock opened at $19.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $135.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.35. Friedman Industries has a fifty-two week low of $9.50 and a fifty-two week high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $115.97 million for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 15.31%.

Friedman Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Friedman Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.30%.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,165,000. Gendell Jeffrey L raised its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 9.7% during the third quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 353,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 31,142 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the third quarter worth $339,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 20.4% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 137,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 23,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Friedman Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

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.