L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Separately, B. Riley started coverage on shares of L.B. Foster in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company.

L.B. Foster Price Performance

Shares of L.B. Foster stock opened at $18.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $191.01 million, a PE ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.91 and a 200 day moving average of $24.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. L.B. Foster has a 12 month low of $14.23 and a 12 month high of $30.77.

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $97.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.40 million. L.B. Foster had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 6.01%. On average, research analysts expect that L.B. Foster will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

L.B. Foster declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 4th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 16.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On L.B. Foster

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in L.B. Foster by 197.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of L.B. Foster during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of L.B. Foster during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,784,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.63% of the company’s stock.

About L.B. Foster

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.