Short Interest in Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Decreases By 17.3%

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,600 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the April 30th total of 24,900 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 18,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Friedman Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Friedman Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $401,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,511 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 7,320 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the fourth quarter worth $422,000. 33.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Friedman Industries Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Friedman Industries stock traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $16.90. 32,604 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,585. Friedman Industries has a 52-week low of $12.24 and a 52-week high of $19.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $16.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.79 million, a PE ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 1.40.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Friedman Industries's payout ratio is 19.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Friedman Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th.

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.