Short Interest in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Decreases By 5.5%

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

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $905,187.04. This represents a 14.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FELE. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 55.7% in 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 shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. CWM LLC raised its stake 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FELE opened at $98.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.71. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.00. Franklin Electric has a 52 week low of $91.67 and a 52 week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued 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). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. 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 1.01%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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.

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.