Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Friedman Industries Stock Down 1.9 %

FRD opened at $14.47 on Wednesday. Friedman Industries has a 1 year low of $9.50 and a 1 year high of $19.52. The firm has a market cap of $100.86 million, a P/E ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 6.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.54 per share, with a total value of $82,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,927.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Max Alan Reichenthal bought 2,000 shares of the business’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 $428,251.29. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mike J. Taylor purchased 5,000 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.54 per share, with a total value of $82,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 147,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,927.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 18,908 shares of company stock valued at $287,698 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Friedman Industries in the first quarter valued at about $425,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Friedman Industries in the second quarter worth about $343,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Friedman Industries by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Friedman Industries by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the period. 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.