Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Reaches New 12-Month High at $107.40

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $107.40 and last traded at $107.25, with a volume of 11600 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $472.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.47 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at $15,493,100.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FELE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 7.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 107,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,945,000 after acquiring an additional 7,354 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,718,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

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.