Earnest Partners LLC Has $138.07 Million Stock Position 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 decreased its position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,470,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,663 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 3.23% of Franklin Electric worth $138,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 11,715 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 833,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,295,000 after acquiring an additional 22,303 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Franklin Electric by 11.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 511,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,063,000 after purchasing an additional 8,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter worth $41,837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the business'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 value of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $801,003.13. The trade was a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,164,758.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 84,438 shares of company stock valued at $7,346,238. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Franklin Electric Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ FELE traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.86. 163,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,282. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.87 and a 1-year high of $111.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $93.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were given 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 yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

About Franklin Electric

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.