Deutsche Bank AG Decreases Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Franklin Electric Co. by 16.6%, owning 67,056 shares worth approximately $6.3 million after selling 13,376 shares in the first quarter.
• The company has initiated a share buyback plan for 1,200,000 shares, indicating that management believes its stock is undervalued.
• Franklin Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 27.39%.

Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,056 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,376 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.15% of Franklin Electric worth $6,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FELE. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $2,782,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Franklin Electric by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,739 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 89,417 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,714,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total transaction of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $801,003.13. The trade was a 55.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 84,438 shares of company stock valued at $7,346,238. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,085. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $91.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year 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.

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

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

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Franklin Electric Company 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.