Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 689,100 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 649,900 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 167,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $100.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 190,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,665. Franklin Electric has a fifty-two week low of $82.61 and a fifty-two week high of $108.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.25 and its 200-day moving average is $100.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.95.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $543.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $570.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Franklin Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 24.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Jay J. Walsh sold 14,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,473,391.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,056.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.87, for a total transaction of $519,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 108,489 shares in the company, valued at $11,268,752.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay J. Walsh sold 14,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,473,391.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,056.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,486 shares of company stock valued at $2,568,171. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 121,400.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

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.