Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 574,600 shares, a decline of 12.7% from the November 15th total of 658,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 178,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $150,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $905,187.04. The trade was a 14.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ FELE opened at $105.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40. Franklin Electric has a fifty-two week low of $91.45 and a fifty-two week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.