Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $109.98 and last traded at $109.65, with a volume of 31018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Franklin Electric Trading Up 9.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.09.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $531.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.08 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 9.22%. Franklin Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Electric

In other news, insider Gregg C. Sengstack sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $150,330.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,187.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 25.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 34,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 1.6% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 8,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 2.2% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 22,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BHK Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 81.5% during the 1st quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.