L.B. Foster Company (FSTR)Industrials | Railroads | Pittsburgh, United States | NasdaqGS
41.34 USD
-1.21
(-2.844%) ⇩
(July 13, 2026, 4 p.m.
EDT)
After hours: 40.60 -0.74 (-0.740%) ⇩ (July 13, 2026, 7:57 p.m. EDT) |
Hot Take ↕ | July 11, 2026, 6:10 a.m. EDT
L.B. Foster presents a classic 'value trap' scenario where strong recent price performance masks deteriorating operational efficiency. While the stock has rallied significantly over the last nine years, the underlying business quality is eroding: profit margins have collapsed to roughly 2%, operating margins are negligible at 1.7%, and return on equity is a paltry 6.4%. The massive gap between the trailing P/E of 41 and the forward P/E of 21 suggests the market expects a sharp earnings contraction, yet the current price already reflects this pessimism. The short-term outlook remains cautiously constructive due to technical resilience; the stock is trading well above its 200-day average, and the options chain shows some bullish positioning for a move toward $45 in late 2026. However, this is likely a momentum play rather than a fundamental turnaround. The absence of any dividend history eliminates income appeal entirely. Investors buying here are betting on order trends improving faster than margins can decay, but the balance sheet carries significant debt relative to cash, and the low operating margins leave little room for error. This is a speculative trade on industrial recovery, not a core holding. |
| Model | MAE |
|---|---|
| AutoTheta ✓ | 0.258040 |
| MSTL | 0.258803 |
| AutoETS | 0.259215 |
| AutoARIMA | 0.259933 |
Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: AutoTheta
| Forecast Reliability | |
|---|---|
| Score | 31% |
| H-stat | 2.23 |
| Ljung-Box p | 0.000 |
| Jarque-Bera p | 0.000 |
| Excess Kurtosis | 3.79 |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Sector | Industrials |
| Ex Dividend Date | 2016-09-06 |
| Last Dividend Date | 2016-09-06 |
| Debt to Equity Ratio | 47.533 |
| Revenue per Share | 54.758 |
| Market Cap | 432,361,824 |
| Trailing P/E | 41.34 |
| Forward P/E | 20.88 |
| Beta | 1.14 |
| Profit Margins | 1.98% |
| Website | https://www.lbfoster.com |
As of July 11, 2026, 6:10 a.m. EDT: Speculator positioning is mixed and sparse. In the near term (August 2026), there is significant out-of-the-money put open interest at deep strikes ($15, $25, $35), suggesting a hedge against a severe crash or a speculative bet on a bottom, while ATM calls show moderate interest. However, the November 2026 expiration shows a distinct lack of protective puts (zero OTM open interest) and heavy call volume at the $45 strike, indicating a bullish bias for a move toward the upper end of the range. Implied volatility is extremely low for November expirations, reflecting a lack of consensus on a major event.
| Date | Dividend | Yield % |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-09-07 | 0.040 | 0.332779 |
| 2016-06-08 | 0.040 | 0.316206 |
| 2016-03-09 | 0.040 | 0.247219 |
| 2015-12-02 | 0.040 | 0.326797 |
| 2015-09-02 | 0.040 | 0.237671 |
| 2015-06-10 | 0.040 | 0.107210 |
| 2015-03-11 | 0.040 | 0.092700 |
| 2014-12-03 | 0.040 | 0.083647 |
| 2014-09-03 | 0.030 | 0.057394 |
| 2014-06-04 | 0.030 | 0.058824 |
| 2014-03-12 | 0.030 | 0.064809 |
| 2013-12-04 | 0.030 | 0.068306 |
| 2013-09-04 | 0.030 | 0.070688 |
| 2013-06-05 | 0.030 | 0.068478 |
| 2013-03-13 | 0.030 | 0.067781 |
| 2012-12-05 | 0.025 | 0.061080 |
| 2012-09-05 | 0.025 | 0.078076 |
| 2012-06-06 | 0.025 | 0.090810 |
| 2012-03-15 | 0.025 | 0.086356 |
| 2011-12-07 | 0.025 | 0.086237 |
| 2011-09-07 | 0.025 | 0.108648 |
| 2011-06-08 | 0.025 | 0.077256 |
| 2011-03-23 | 0.025 | 0.058810 |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| 52 Week Change | 0.786314 |
| Address1 | 415 Holiday Drive |
| Address2 | Suite 100 |
| All Time High | 59.95 |
| All Time Low | 1.875 |
| Ask | 52.85 |
| Ask Size | 2 |
| Audit Risk | 10 |
| Average Daily Volume10 Day | 106,340 |
| Average Daily Volume3 Month | 119,800 |
| Average Volume | 119,800 |
| Average Volume10Days | 106,340 |
| Beta | 1.139 |
| Bid | 30.03 |
| Bid Size | 2 |
| Board Risk | 2 |
| Book Value | 16.813 |
| City | Pittsburgh |
| Compensation As Of Epoch Date | 1,767,139,200 |
| Compensation Risk | 2 |
| Country | United States |
| Crypto Tradeable | 0 |
| Currency | USD |
| Current Price | 41.34 |
| Current Ratio | 2.224 |
| Custom Price Alert Confidence | HIGH |
| Date Short Interest | 1,782,777,600 |
| Day High | 42.51 |
| Day Low | 41.13 |
| Debt To Equity | 47.533 |
| Dividend Date | 1,474,588,800 |
| Earnings Call Timestamp End | 1,777,897,800 |
| Earnings Call Timestamp Start | 1,777,897,800 |
| Earnings Timestamp | 1,777,897,800 |
| Earnings Timestamp End | 1,777,897,800 |
| Earnings Timestamp Start | 1,777,897,800 |
| Ebitda | 41,310,000 |
| Ebitda Margins | 0.07333 |
| Enterprise To Ebitda | 12.399 |
| Enterprise To Revenue | 0.909 |
| Enterprise Value | 512,186,816 |
| Eps Current Year | 1.74 |
| Eps Forward | 1.98 |
| Eps Trailing Twelve Months | 1.0 |
| Esg Populated | 0 |
| Ex Dividend Date | 1,473,206,400 |
| Exchange | NMS |
| Exchange Data Delayed By | 0 |
| Exchange Timezone Name | America/New_York |
| Exchange Timezone Short Name | EDT |
| Fax | 412 928 7891 |
| Fifty Day Average | 40.8446 |
| Fifty Day Average Change | 0.49539948 |
| Fifty Day Average Change Percent | 0.012128885 |
| Fifty Two Week Change Percent | 78.6314 |
| Fifty Two Week High | 45.81 |
| Fifty Two Week High Change | -4.470001 |
| Fifty Two Week High Change Percent | -0.09757697 |
| Fifty Two Week Low | 21.67 |
| Fifty Two Week Low Change | 19.67 |
| Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent | 0.9077065 |
| Fifty Two Week Range | 21.67 - 45.81 |
| Financial Currency | USD |
| First Trade Date Milliseconds | 360,941,400,000 |
| Five Year Avg Dividend Yield | 0.58 |
| Float Shares | 9,684,633 |
| Forward Eps | 1.98 |
| Forward P E | 20.878788 |
| Free Cashflow | 35,126,376 |
| Full Exchange Name | NasdaqGS |
| Full Time Employees | 1,191 |
| Gmt Off Set Milliseconds | -14,400,000 |
| Governance Epoch Date | 1,782,864,000 |
| Gross Margins | 0.21538 |
| Gross Profits | 121,335,000 |
| Has Pre Post Market Data | 1 |
| Held Percent Insiders | 0.08177 |
| Held Percent Institutions | 0.72372 |
| Implied Shares Outstanding | 10,458,680 |
| Industry | Railroads |
| Industry Disp | Railroads |
| Industry Key | railroads |
| Is Earnings Date Estimate | 0 |
| Language | en-US |
| Last Dividend Date | 1,473,206,400 |
| Last Dividend Value | 0.04 |
| Last Fiscal Year End | 1,767,139,200 |
| Long Business Summary | L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for building and supporting infrastructure in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in 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 new and used rails; rail accessories, such as track spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; power rail; and trackwork products. This segment also provides friction management products and application systems; mobile and wayside systems; railroad condition monitoring systems and equipment including wheel impact load detection systems, wayside data collection and management systems, and rockfall, flood, earthworks, and bridge strike monitoring; and aftermarket services. The Infrastructure Solutions segment manufactures precast concrete products, including restrooms, concession stands, and other protective storage buildings under the CXT brand for national, state, and municipal parks; and sound walls, bridge beams, and other wet/dry utilities concrete products. This segment also provides steel bridge products; corrosion protection solutions; cuts, threads, and paints pipes; threading services for oil and gas production; fabricated steel and aluminum products; and protective pipeline coating services. L.B. Foster Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| Long Name | L.B. Foster Company |
| Market | us_market |
| Market Cap | 432,361,824 |
| Market State | PREPRE |
| Max Age | 86,400 |
| Message Board Id | finmb_130863 |
| Most Recent Quarter | 1,774,915,200 |
| Net Income To Common | 11,155,000 |
| Next Fiscal Year End | 1,798,675,200 |
| Non Diluted Market Cap | 444,859,953 |
| Number Of Analyst Opinions | 2 |
| Open | 41.82 |
| Operating Cashflow | 51,317,000 |
| Operating Margins | 0.01688 |
| Overall Risk | 5 |
| Payout Ratio | 0.0 |
| Peg Ratio | 0.36 |
| Phone | 412 928 3400 |
| Post Market Change | -0.7400017 |
| Post Market Change Percent | -1.7900379 |
| Post Market Price | 40.6 |
| Post Market Time | 1,783,987,055 |
| Previous Close | 42.55 |
| Price Eps Current Year | 23.758621 |
| Price Hint | 2 |
| Price To Book | 2.4588118 |
| Price To Sales Trailing12 Months | 0.76746845 |
| Profit Margins | 0.0198 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.173 |
| Quote Source Name | Nasdaq Real Time Price |
| Quote Type | EQUITY |
| Recommendation Key | none |
| Region | US |
| Regular Market Change | -1.21 |
| Regular Market Change Percent | -2.84371 |
| Regular Market Day High | 42.51 |
| Regular Market Day Low | 41.13 |
| Regular Market Day Range | 41.13 - 42.51 |
| Regular Market Open | 41.82 |
| Regular Market Previous Close | 42.55 |
| Regular Market Price | 41.34 |
| Regular Market Time | 1,783,972,801 |
| Regular Market Volume | 63,751 |
| Return On Assets | 0.05429 |
| Return On Equity | 0.06373 |
| Revenue Growth | 0.239 |
| Revenue Per Share | 54.758 |
| Sand P52 Week Change | 0.20847368 |
| Sector | Industrials |
| Sector Disp | Industrials |
| Sector Key | industrials |
| Share Holder Rights Risk | 7 |
| Shares Outstanding | 10,458,680 |
| Shares Percent Shares Out | 0.023599999 |
| Shares Short | 246,478 |
| Shares Short Previous Month Date | 1,780,012,800 |
| Shares Short Prior Month | 91,517 |
| Short Name | L.B. Foster Company |
| Short Percent Of Float | 0.0418 |
| Short Ratio | 2.44 |
| Source Interval | 15 |
| State | PA |
| Symbol | FSTR |
| Target High Price | 46.0 |
| Target Low Price | 34.0 |
| Target Mean Price | 40.0 |
| Target Median Price | 40.0 |
| Total Cash | 3,991,000 |
| Total Cash Per Share | 0.382 |
| Total Debt | 82,942,000 |
| Total Revenue | 563,361,024 |
| Tradeable | 0 |
| Trailing Annual Dividend Rate | 0.0 |
| Trailing Annual Dividend Yield | 0.0 |
| Trailing Eps | 1.0 |
| Trailing P E | 41.34 |
| Trailing Peg Ratio | 0.3574 |
| Triggerable | 1 |
| Two Hundred Day Average | 31.5095 |
| Two Hundred Day Average Change | 9.8305 |
| Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent | 0.31198525 |
| Type Disp | Equity |
| Volume | 63,751 |
| Website | https://www.lbfoster.com |
| Zip | 15,220-2793 |