Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Franklin Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Franklin Electric stock opened at $98.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.99. Franklin Electric has a twelve month low of $82.61 and a twelve month high of $107.89.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted 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 company had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Electric will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Franklin Electric by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Franklin Electric by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its position in Franklin Electric by 164.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Franklin Electric by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.