Citigroup Inc. Buys 15,907 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. by 25.3% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 0.17% of the company's shares valued at around $7.4 million.
• Franklin Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1%, to be paid on August 21st.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to 1.2 million shares, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,790 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,907 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Franklin Electric worth $7,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 13,673.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 192,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,076,000 after purchasing an additional 191,150 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 241.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 73,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,887,000 after purchasing an additional 51,903 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 430,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,924,000 after purchasing an additional 51,137 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 513,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,079,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Electric in the first quarter valued at about $2,987,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FELE traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $95.76. 158,552 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 264,085. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.65. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.87 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%.The company had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Franklin Electric declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Electric news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the firm'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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total value of $2,131,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,046,000. This trade represents a 51.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,438 shares of company stock worth $7,346,238. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.