Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Friedman Industries Stock Down 1.3 %

FRD opened at $14.24 on Monday. Friedman Industries has a 12-month low of $9.50 and a 12-month high of $19.52. The company has a market cap of $99.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.37.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $114.55 million during the quarter.

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.30%.

Insider Activity at Friedman Industries

In other news, Director Max Alan Reichenthal bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.89 per share, for a total transaction of $29,780.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,251.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 6,365 shares of company stock worth $91,241. 4.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRD. 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. Gendell Jeffrey L raised its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 435,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,164,000 after buying an additional 61,339 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,464,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew 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 valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Friedman Industries by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 54,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. 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.