L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 260,300 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the September 15th total of 235,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 54,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FSTR. StockNews.com lowered L.B. Foster from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Singular Research upgraded L.B. Foster to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of L.B. Foster from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other L.B. Foster news, Director Raymond T. Betler acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.62 per share, with a total value of $88,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 30,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,334.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Raymond T. Betler bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.62 per share, for a total transaction of $88,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,334.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William M. Thalman purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.79 per share, for a total transaction of $41,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 58,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,352.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 8,620 shares of company stock valued at $149,231 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On L.B. Foster

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in L.B. Foster stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) by 760.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in L.B. Foster were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

L.B. Foster Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of FSTR opened at $20.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. L.B. Foster has a 1-year low of $14.23 and a 1-year high of $30.77. The stock has a market cap of $220.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.83.

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $140.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.36 million. L.B. Foster had a return on equity of 2.69% and a net margin of 1.35%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that L.B. Foster will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

L.B. Foster Company Profile

L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Rail, Technologies, and Services; and Infrastructure Solutions. The Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railroads, industrial companies, and rail contractors, as well as used rails; rail accessories, such as rack spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; and trackwork products.