L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Short Interest Update

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of 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 daily trading volume, of 84,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On L.B. Foster

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in L.B. Foster stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) by 760.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring 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 reporting period. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

L.B. Foster Stock Performance

FSTR stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.30. 34,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,575. L.B. Foster has a twelve month low of $13.76 and a twelve month high of $30.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded L.B. Foster from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. B. Riley increased their price objective on L.B. Foster from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th.

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.