Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Up 129.3% in December

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,400 shares, an increase of 129.3% from the November 30th total of 4,100 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

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.

Friedman Industries Stock Up 0.1 %

FRD stock opened at $15.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.41. Friedman Industries has a 1-year low of $13.40 and a 1-year high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Friedman Industries

In other Friedman Industries news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,216,079. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRD. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Friedman Industries by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 135,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $343,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Friedman Industries by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Friedman Industries by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.