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

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 501,700 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 534,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 179,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 6.0 %

FELE stock opened at $106.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric has a twelve month low of $91.67 and a twelve month high of $111.94. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.39 and a 200-day moving average of $101.54.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 15.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.84%.

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.