Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Franklin Electric, buying 17,000 shares valued at about $1.57 million in the first quarter.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including Jonathan M. Grandon and Delancey W. Davis, while insiders overall sold 19,835 shares in the last quarter.
• Franklin Electric reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $0.83 and revenue of $500.44 million, and analysts currently have a Hold consensus with a $106 average price target.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,567,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FELE. Quarry LP bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 213.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 8,547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $883,759.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,509 shares in the company, valued at $776,430.60. This represents a 53.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 1,900 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $190,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,040,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,835 shares of company stock worth $2,004,982. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Shares of FELE stock opened at $105.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $101.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.21. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.63 and a 12 month high of $111.53.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $500.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.21 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 6.91%.The firm's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.

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