AJOVista LLC Invests $49,000 in Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD)

AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Friedman Industries, Incorporated (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRD. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Friedman Industries during the third quarter valued at $339,000. EAM Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Friedman Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,165,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Friedman Industries by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 137,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 23,250 shares during the period. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its stake in Friedman Industries by 9.7% during the third quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 353,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 31,142 shares in the last quarter. 33.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Friedman Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Friedman Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:FRD opened at $19.19 on Monday. Friedman Industries, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $9.50 and a 12-month high of $19.52. The firm has a market cap of $133.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.34.

Friedman Industries (NYSEAMERICAN:FRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $115.97 million during the quarter. Friedman Industries had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 3.68%.

Friedman Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Friedman Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Friedman Industries’s payout ratio is 6.30%.

Friedman Industries 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.