Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE Stock Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors increased its Franklin Electric stake by 18.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 332,387 shares valued at approximately $31.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 80% of FELE.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to “buy,” while other analysts maintained “hold” ratings. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $114.50.
• Franklin Electric reported quarterly EPS of $1.55, beating estimates of $1.44, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $622.9 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,387 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 51,541 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.75% of Franklin Electric worth $31,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 17.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,085 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 54.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 733 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 19.8% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 9.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,498 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $330,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FELE shares. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Electric from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Franklin Electric from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:FELE opened at $100.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.54 and a 1-year high of $115.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.87 and a 200 day moving average of $101.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.03.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $622.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.92 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 15.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.28%.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc NASDAQ: FELE is a global manufacturer and distributor of systems and components used to move, manage and control water and other fluids. Founded in 1944 and headquartered in Bluffton, Indiana, the company originally focused on submersible electric motors and has expanded into a broader range of fluid-handling technologies.

Franklin Electric's Water Systems business supplies submersible pumps, motors, drives, controls, monitoring equipment and related products for residential, commercial, agricultural, municipal and industrial applications.

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