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

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

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of FELE opened at $89.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Franklin Electric has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.17.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 8.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.14, for a total value of $99,117.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,281.14. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,968,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter worth $41,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 13,673.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 192,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,076,000 after purchasing an additional 191,150 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,098,000 after acquiring an additional 143,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 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.