197,889 Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments reduced its Franklin Electric stake by 15.5%, selling 197,889 shares in the third quarter; it still held 1.08 million shares, worth about $104.5 million.
• Franklin Electric beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.50 and revenue of $633.6 million; revenue rose 8.9% year over year.
• Analyst views were mixed, but the stock had a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $132.50. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 15.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,082,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 197,889 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 2.45% of Franklin Electric worth $104,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the second quarter valued at $1,694,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 256,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,653,000 after acquiring an additional 10,858 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,135 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,659,000 after acquiring an additional 10,325 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 687.1% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 32,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 28,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 116.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 147,141 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,562,000 after purchasing an additional 79,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

FELE stock opened at $96.98 on Tuesday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $89.54 and a one year high of $115.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.10. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $633.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $617.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Franklin Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Franklin Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. DA Davidson raised Franklin Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $130.00 price objective on Franklin Electric in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.50.

Franklin Electric Profile

Franklin Electric is a global manufacturer of systems and components used to move water and fuel. Founded in 1944 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company serves residential, commercial, agricultural, municipal and industrial markets.

Its water-related products include submersible motors and pumps, groundwater and wastewater systems, water treatment equipment, and controls and drives. Franklin Electric also supplies pumping and related equipment for applications such as pressure boosting, irrigation and dewatering.

Through its fueling business, the company provides equipment and systems for fuel dispensing, storage and monitoring at retail fueling sites and other commercial and industrial locations.

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