Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Franklin Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 1.4 %

Franklin Electric stock opened at $97.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.34 and its 200-day moving average is $95.88. Franklin Electric has a fifty-two week low of $82.61 and a fifty-two week high of $107.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FELE. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after buying an additional 7,325 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,656,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $415,493,000 after buying an additional 17,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

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.