Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Short Interest Down 6.0% in January

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 501,700 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the January 15th total of 534,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 179,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,308,000 after purchasing an additional 11,426 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 137,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.0 %

FELE opened at $106.03 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.62. 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 one year low of $91.67 and a one year high of $111.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $485.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.87 million. Analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.84%.

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.