DA Davidson Increases Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Price Target to $90.00

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Free Report) had its price target raised by DA Davidson from $87.00 to $90.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company's stock.

FELE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut Franklin Electric from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday, January 14th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FELE traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.60. The company had a trading volume of 306,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,511. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Franklin Electric has a one year low of $82.61 and a one year high of $107.89.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $460.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Franklin Electric's revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Franklin Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of Franklin Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $1,036,185.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 88.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 314 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Franklin Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Franklin Electric by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.