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

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) 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. Currently, 1.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 169,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $150,330.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at $905,187.04. This represents a 14.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 55.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 29.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the third quarter worth about $77,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin Electric stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 95,410 shares, 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 firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $103.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.68.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

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.

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