L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Short Interest Up 130.5% in July

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 194,100 shares, a growth of 130.5% from the June 30th total of 84,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 84,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of L.B. Foster from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. B. Riley upped their price objective on L.B. Foster from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

L.B. Foster Stock Performance

FSTR stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.30. 34,046 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,575. L.B. Foster has a one year low of $13.76 and a one year high of $30.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $124.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.34 million. L.B. Foster had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 3.19%. Equities research analysts forecast that L.B. Foster will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On L.B. Foster

An institutional investor recently raised its position in L.B. Foster stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) by 760.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in L.B. Foster were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

About L.B. Foster

L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Rail, Technologies, and Services; and Infrastructure Solutions. The Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railroads, industrial companies, and rail contractors, as well as used rails; rail accessories, such as rack spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; and trackwork products.