Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 5,032 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. by 14.8% during Q1, owning a total of 38,950 shares valued at approximately $3.66 million.
• Franklin Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend payout of $0.265 per share, translating to a 1.1% annualized yield with a payout ratio of 27.39%.
• Research firms have recently upgraded Franklin Electric's stock rating from "hold" to "buy," with Robert W. Baird raising the price target from $94.00 to $107.00.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,032 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Franklin Electric worth $3,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Franklin Electric during the first quarter worth about $770,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 124,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,698,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In related news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,164,758.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,175,780. The trade was a 34.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the business'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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,438 shares of company stock valued at $7,346,238 in the last 90 days. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:FELE traded down $0.7350 on Monday, hitting $98.8650. 34,840 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 264,979. 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 Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.53. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.