Magnetar Financial LLC Trims Holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial cut its Franklin Electric stake by 73.7% in Q3, selling 36,723 shares and retaining 13,136 shares worth about $1.25 million.
• Other institutions stepped in—Norges Bank opened a ~ $45.7M position and First Trust, Impax and Qube Research materially increased holdings (institutional ownership ~80%)—even as FELE traded down after an EPS miss ( $0.87 vs. $0.89) and management set FY2026 guidance of $4.40–$4.60 per share.

Magnetar Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 73.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 36,723 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FELE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,701,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Franklin Electric by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,552,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $139,285,000 after purchasing an additional 481,108 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 47.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,246,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,881,000 after buying an additional 403,115 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $24,223,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 486,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,661,000 after buying an additional 200,545 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Ruzynski purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.34 per share, for a total transaction of $46,670.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 22,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,871.48. This represents a 2.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FELE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. DA Davidson set a $100.00 price target on Franklin Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Franklin Electric has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 2.5%

FELE stock opened at $91.25 on Friday. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $111.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $100.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.20.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $506.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.25 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 6.90%.Franklin Electric's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Franklin Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

Franklin Electric Company Profile

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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