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

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,400 shares, a growth 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 trading volume, of 10,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Friedman Industries Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSEAMERICAN FRD opened at $15.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.52 million, a P/E ratio of 13.66 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.50 per share, with a total value of $27,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 164,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,216,079. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRD. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 1.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 135,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Friedman Industries during the second quarter valued at about $343,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Friedman Industries by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. 33.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.