Earnest Partners LLC Has $138.07 Million Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 2.2%, now owning approximately 3.23% of the company, valued at $138 million.
• Franklin Electric announced a share buyback program allowing the repurchase of 1.2 million shares, typically indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.31 per share and revenue of $587.43 million, surpassing analyst estimates for the second quarter of 2023.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,470,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,663 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 3.23% of Franklin Electric worth $138,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,045,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $194,551,000 after buying an additional 11,715 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.7% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 833,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,295,000 after buying an additional 22,303 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 511,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,063,000 after buying an additional 8,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric during the first quarter worth $41,837,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total transaction of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,036 shares of company stock valued at $5,181,479. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

FELE stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $97.86. 163,661 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $93.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.46. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $111.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FELE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.