Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Friedman Industries Price Performance

Friedman Industries stock opened at $14.81 on Wednesday. Friedman Industries has a 12 month low of $9.50 and a 12 month high of $19.52. The company has a market cap of $103.23 million, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Friedman Industries news, CEO Mike J. Taylor purchased 1,908 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.33 per share, with a total value of $31,157.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,484,674.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joel Spira acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.27 per share, with a total value of $28,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 16,504 shares in the company, valued at $235,512.08. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mike J. Taylor bought 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 152,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,674.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 13,908 shares of company stock worth $204,998. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its holdings in Friedman Industries by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 435,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after buying an additional 61,339 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Friedman Industries by 0.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,464,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 1.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 135,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 8.6% in the second quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 54,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.