Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. by 1.5%, bringing its total shares owned to 196,600, valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Numerous large investors have made significant changes to their holdings in Franklin Electric during the 1st quarter, with QRG Capital Management increasing its stake by 10.6% and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services growing its stake by 19.4%.
• Franklin Electric reported earnings per share of $1.31 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, alongside a new quarterly dividend of $0.265, reflecting a 1.1% yield.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.43% of Franklin Electric worth $18,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,782,000. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 16,922 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 8,171 shares in the company, valued at $801,003.13. This represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total transaction of $2,131,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,036 shares of company stock worth $5,181,479 over the last 90 days. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Franklin Electric Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded down $1.06 on Monday, reaching $97.86. 163,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,782. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.87 and a 12 month high of $111.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $93.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.46. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,200,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently 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 report 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to 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.