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 note released on Tuesday.

Friedman Industries Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:FRD opened at $14.69 on Tuesday. Friedman Industries has a one year low of $11.15 and a one year high of $19.52. The company has a market capitalization of $102.39 million, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.38.

Friedman Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Friedman Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Friedman Industries news, Director Max Alan Reichenthal purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.00 per share, with a total value of $28,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 30,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,654. The trade was a 6.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders bought a total of 4,365 shares of company stock valued at $61,461 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Friedman Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Friedman Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $131,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Friedman Industries during the second quarter worth about $343,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Friedman Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $425,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Friedman Industries by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Friedman Industries by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the period. 33.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.