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

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 589,900 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the December 31st total of 624,300 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 169,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FELE traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.99. 249,368 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 160,097. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Franklin Electric has a 52 week low of $91.67 and a 52 week high of $111.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $101.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.82.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 23.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the second quarter worth approximately $380,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $426,000. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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.