Signaturefd LLC Trims Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Signaturefd LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Covestor Ltd grew 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in Franklin Electric by 50.0% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin Electric by 42.2% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Franklin Electric Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ FELE opened at $95.10 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.81 and a 200-day moving average of $91.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.08.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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. As a group, sell-side 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 share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FELE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.