Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

Friedman Industries Stock Down 0.7 %

FRD opened at $15.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.03 million, a PE ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.37. Friedman Industries has a 12 month low of $9.50 and a 12 month high of $19.52.

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. Friedman Industries had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $114.55 million for the quarter.

Friedman Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is currently 6.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Friedman Industries

In other Friedman Industries news, Director Max Alan Reichenthal purchased 2,000 shares of Friedman Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.89 per share, with a total value of $29,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,251.29. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 6,365 shares of company stock worth $91,241 in the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gendell Jeffrey L grew its stake in Friedman Industries by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 374,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,787,000 after purchasing an additional 20,940 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Friedman Industries by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $131,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $425,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.26% of the company’s stock.

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.