US Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FELE traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 175,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,678. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.29 and its 200 day moving average is $96.39. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.99. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.61 and a 12-month high of $107.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.64 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FELE. Northcoast Research raised Franklin Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.