Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

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. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 169,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.8 %

FELE stock opened at $98.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.67. Franklin Electric has a 52 week low of $91.67 and a 52 week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 1.01%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 25.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $150,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,187.04. The trade was a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Company Profile

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.