Joel Spira Acquires 2,000 Shares of Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Stock

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Director Joel Spira bought 2,000 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.27 per share, for a total transaction of $28,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,512.08. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Friedman Industries stock opened at $15.10 on Friday. Friedman Industries, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $9.50 and a twelve month high of $19.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.25 million, a P/E ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.34.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter. Friedman Industries had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm had revenue of $132.23 million for the quarter.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.69%.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gendell Jeffrey L increased its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 16.4% during the first quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 435,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,164,000 after acquiring an additional 61,339 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Friedman Industries in the first quarter worth about $425,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Friedman Industries in the first quarter worth about $131,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 9.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Friedman Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th.

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.