Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Up 327.4% in February

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,300 shares, an increase of 327.4% from the January 31st total of 10,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 13,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 2,500 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.10 per share, for a total transaction of $35,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,071.40. The trade was a 1.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tim Scott Stevenson bought 1,500 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.23 per share, for a total transaction of $25,845.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 28,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,070.25. The trade was a 5.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,180 shares of company stock valued at $106,922. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,689 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 70,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,141 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Friedman Industries by 3.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Friedman Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 33.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Friedman Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Friedman Industries stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $16.41. 8,760 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,263. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 1.40. Friedman Industries has a 52 week low of $13.40 and a 52 week high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is 19.75%.

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.