Short Interest in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Grows By 6.0%

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 689,100 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 649,900 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 167,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total value of $519,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 108,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,268,752.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total value of $519,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 108,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,268,752.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay J. Walsh sold 14,090 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,473,391.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,056.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,486 shares of company stock valued at $2,568,171. 2.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,711,000. First Merchants Corp bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,054,000. Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 474,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,884,000 after purchasing an additional 104,751 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,158,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 116.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 165,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,951,000 after buying an additional 89,128 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $103.17. The company had a trading volume of 28,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,601. Franklin Electric has a 12 month low of $82.61 and a 12 month high of $108.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $543.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Electric will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 24.88%.

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.