Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on FELE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $100.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $95.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.10.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $506.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.25 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Franklin Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In related news, CEO Joseph A. Ruzynski acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.34 per share, for a total transaction of $46,670.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 22,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,871.48. This represents a 2.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $718,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 136,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Company Profile

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.