L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 106,200 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the May 31st total of 97,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 53,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in L.B. Foster stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) by 760.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing 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. 80.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FSTR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of L.B. Foster from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of 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

L.B. Foster stock traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.18. 92,427 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,264. L.B. Foster has a 1 year low of $13.76 and a 1 year high of $30.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.35.

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

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.