KBC Group NV Sells 75,141 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 312,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75,141 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $28,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,075,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,480,000 after buying an additional 29,982 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 833,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,295,000 after acquiring an additional 22,303 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 511,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,063,000 after acquiring an additional 8,190 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 1st quarter worth $41,837,000. Finally, First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 251,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ FELE opened at $93.67 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.09.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.01. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 6.71%.The firm had revenue of $581.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.000-4.200 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 34.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FELE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.00.

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.