Short Interest in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Drops By 5.5%

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 589,900 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the December 31st total of 624,300 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $150,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This trade represents a 14.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 811,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,098,000 after purchasing an additional 143,917 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Franklin Electric by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,998,000 after acquiring an additional 7,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE traded down $0.75 on Monday, hitting $99.24. 186,186 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,818. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.80. Franklin Electric has a one year low of $91.67 and a one year high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This is an increase from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

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.