PDT Partners LLC Sells 6,837 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Franklin Electric by 71% during the first quarter, now holding only 2,792 shares valued at $262,000.
• Royal Bank of Canada significantly increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 81.6%, while several other institutional investors also adjusted their holdings in the company.
• Franklin Electric reported an earnings per share of $1.31 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has set a fiscal year 2025 EPS guidance of $3.950-4.250.

PDT Partners LLC cut its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 71.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,837 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Humankind Investments LLC grew its position in Franklin Electric by 3.4% in the first quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 3,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Franklin Electric by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $96.86. 159,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 196,440. 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 Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $111.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $94.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.18.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.950-4.250 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Electric 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $801,003.13. This represents a 55.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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