JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 124.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,962 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $19,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FELE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,701,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,552,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,285,000 after acquiring an additional 481,108 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 624,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,424,000 after purchasing an additional 358,517 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,223,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 70.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 486,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,661,000 after purchasing an additional 200,545 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $100.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

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

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of FELE opened at $93.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.80. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.87 and a 52 week high of $111.53.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.02). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $506.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is presently 34.78%.

About Franklin Electric

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.