Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on FELE. Northcoast Research raised shares of Franklin Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ FELE opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.97. Franklin Electric has a 1 year low of $82.61 and a 1 year high of $107.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.33%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at $15,493,100.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.3% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 88.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 5.1% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.