Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Short Interest Update

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 589,900 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the December 15th total of 624,300 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 169,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $150,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This trade represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,030,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,810,000 after acquiring an additional 40,248 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.6% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,563,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $150,560,000 after buying an additional 39,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,004,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $105,264,000 after buying an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 0.6% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 659,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,082,000 after buying an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 387,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,571,000 after acquiring an additional 63,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ FELE opened at $98.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.00. Franklin Electric has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 25.32%.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and distributes water and fuel pumping systems worldwide. The company operates through Water Systems, Fueling Systems, and Distribution segments. The Water Systems segment offers submersible motors, drives, pumps, electronic controls, water treatment systems, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment.