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

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 624,300 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the November 30th total of 574,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 169,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,187.04. The trade was a 14.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

FELE stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.45. 95,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,283. Franklin Electric has a one year low of $91.45 and a one year high of $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $103.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.68.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Franklin Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

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.