Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Price Target Raised to $107.00

Key Points

• Franklin Electric's price target was raised from $94.00 to $107.00 by Robert W. Baird, indicating a potential upside of 11.16% from its current stock price.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded the company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating on the same day.
• Franklin Electric recently authorized a stock repurchase plan allowing the buyback of 1,200,000 shares, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $94.00 to $107.00 in a report released on Wednesday, July 30th, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price indicates a potential upside of 13.06% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of FELE stock opened at $94.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.92. Franklin Electric 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $587.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.61 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,200,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other Franklin Electric news, Director David M. Wathen sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $2,066,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Wathen sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total value of $2,131,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,046,000. The trade was a 51.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,402 shares of company stock valued at $8,529,908. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Electric

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FELE. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,769,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $464,796,000 after acquiring an additional 45,174 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,080,000 after acquiring an additional 92,793 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,968,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.