Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 146.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,143 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.16% of Franklin Electric worth $6,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 27.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 50.0% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total value of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This represents a 55.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $94.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.07. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.87 and a 52-week high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FELE. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

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.