Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Short Interest Down 12.7% in November

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 574,600 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the November 15th total of 658,300 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 178,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 0.8 %

FELE traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $105.11. The company had a trading volume of 115,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,207. The company's fifty day moving average price is $105.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric has a 1 year low of $91.45 and a 1 year high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $531.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at $905,187.04. This trade represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,030,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $212,810,000 after acquiring an additional 40,248 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,563,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $150,560,000 after acquiring an additional 39,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,004,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,264,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Franklin Electric by 0.6% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 659,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,082,000 after acquiring an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 387,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,571,000 after purchasing an additional 63,436 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped 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 note 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.