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

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Friedman Industries

In related news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 2,000 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $2,216,079. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Friedman Industries by 1.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Friedman Industries during the second quarter valued at about $343,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Friedman Industries by 0.6% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,464,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the period. 33.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Friedman Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

Friedman Industries stock opened at $15.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.54 million, a P/E ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.41. Friedman Industries has a one year low of $13.40 and a one year high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.