Short Interest in Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Grows By 5.9%

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,700 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the May 15th total of 10,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Friedman Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other news, CEO Mike J. Taylor purchased 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.33 per share, with a total value of $31,157.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 152,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,484,674.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Friedman Industries news, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.33 per share, for a total transaction of $31,157.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,484,674.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mike J. Taylor purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.54 per share, with a total value of $82,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 147,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,927.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gendell Jeffrey L lifted its position in Friedman Industries by 16.4% during the first quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 435,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after acquiring an additional 61,339 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 137,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 23,250 shares during the last quarter. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,165,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Friedman Industries by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.26% of the company’s stock.

Friedman Industries Price Performance

Shares of FRD stock opened at $15.70 on Thursday. Friedman Industries has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $19.52. The company has a market cap of $109.43 million, a P/E ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.34.

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.