Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) Short Interest Up 6.8% in December

Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD – Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,900 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the December 15th total of 7,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 20,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Friedman Industries Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:FRD opened at $10.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.29 million, a P/E ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 1.00. Friedman Industries has a fifty-two week low of $6.74 and a fifty-two week high of $11.36.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $149.69 million during the quarter. Friedman Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 14.95%.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 12th. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Friedman Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 6.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Friedman Industries by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Friedman Industries by 5.5% during the second quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 74,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 3,879 shares during the period. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Friedman Industries by 11.6% in the third quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 71,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 7,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L lifted its stake in Friedman Industries by 38.6% in the third quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 46,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 12,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.26% of the company’s stock.

About Friedman Industries

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Friedman Industries, Inc engages in the provision of manufacture and trade of steel products. It operates through the Coil and Tubular segments. The Coil segment produces and markets hot-rolled steel and coils. The Tubular segment focuses on the operation of two electric resistance welded pipe mills with a combined outside diameter.