StockNews.com Upgrades Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FELE. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Northcoast Research raised Franklin Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

FELE opened at $98.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Franklin Electric has a 12 month low of $82.61 and a 12 month high of $107.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.99.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 24.88%.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In related news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total transaction of $1,036,185.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.8% in the first quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.1% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

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.