Running Oak Capital LLC Raises Stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 150,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,009 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC owned 0.33% of Franklin Electric worth $14,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 10.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,093,000 after purchasing an additional 10,580 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin Electric by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,998,000 after purchasing an additional 7,628 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Franklin Electric stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.64. The company had a trading volume of 889,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,949. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $86.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.94.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $455.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.21 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Franklin Electric's payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Franklin Electric announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FELE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $111.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,164,758.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,175,780. This represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total transaction of $2,066,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock worth $8,529,908 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

About Franklin Electric

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.