Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. $FELE

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 146.5% in Q1, holding 72,583 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million.
• Franklin Electric's recent quarterly earnings showed $1.31 EPS, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $587.43 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 27.39%.

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) by 146.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,143 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Franklin Electric worth $6,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FELE. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 19.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 50.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 46.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin Electric by 168.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 290 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company's stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Performance

Franklin Electric stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.33. 938,522 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,197. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.91.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $587.43 million for 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. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,200,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 10,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.03, for a total transaction of $983,829.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $801,003.13. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FELE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped 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 shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.