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 during the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 179,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ FELE opened at $106.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40. Franklin Electric has a 52-week low of $91.67 and a 52-week high of $111.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.39 and a 200-day moving average of $101.54.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Franklin Electric will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 research 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.