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

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in 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 company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 169,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $150,330.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,124 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 2,523 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Franklin Electric by 0.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,629 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,753,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on 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 Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.89. The company had a trading volume of 171,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,002. 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 12-month low of $91.67 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.71. 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 (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $531.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is 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.