Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Update

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,100 shares, an increase of 10.1% from the March 31st total of 11,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Friedman Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:FRD traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.21. 9,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,614. The firm has a market cap of $134.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.35. Friedman Industries has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $19.52.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $115.97 million during the quarter.

Friedman Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Friedman Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Friedman Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRD. EAM Investors LLC bought a new stake in Friedman Industries during the third quarter worth $1,165,000. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its stake in Friedman Industries by 9.7% in the third quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 353,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 31,142 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Friedman Industries in the third quarter valued at about $339,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Friedman Industries by 20.4% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 137,027 shares of the company's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 23,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Friedman Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.26% of the company's stock.

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.