Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Purchases New Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $241,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,093,000 after acquiring an additional 10,580 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 3.9% during 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.70, for a total value of $2,167,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 74,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,450,653.40. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908. 2.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FELE shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FELE stock traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $85.85. The stock had a trading volume of 197,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,136. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.21 and a 200 day moving average of $95.15. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $471.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Franklin Electric 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.