Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Short Interest Up 8.6% in December

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 624,300 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the November 30th total of 574,600 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 169,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of FELE opened at $97.45 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $91.45 and a fifty-two week high of $111.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.68. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $905,187.04. This trade represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 26.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 154,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,174,000 after acquiring an additional 31,937 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 9.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 9,170 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 237.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research 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.