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

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 111,400 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the April 30th total of 130,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 45,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of L.B. Foster

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of L.B. Foster by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,368 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of L.B. Foster during the fourth quarter worth $349,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of L.B. Foster during the fourth quarter worth $1,784,000. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on L.B. Foster in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded L.B. Foster from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

L.B. Foster Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSTR traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.27. L.B. Foster has a fifty-two week low of $14.23 and a fifty-two week high of $29.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $19.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.77. The company has a market cap of $201.36 million, a P/E ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.96.

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $97.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.40 million. L.B. Foster had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 6.01%. On average, analysts forecast that L.B. Foster will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

L.B. Foster declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 4th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 16.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.