Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) CEO Joseph Ruzynski Buys 500 Shares of Stock

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) CEO Joseph Ruzynski purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.34 per share, for a total transaction of $46,670.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,871.48. The trade was a 2.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE opened at $95.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.14 and a 200 day moving average of $97.10. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $111.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $506.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.25 million. Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 6.90%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $50,010,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Franklin Electric by 44.9% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,552,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,285,000 after purchasing an additional 481,108 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 47.8% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,246,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,115 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Franklin Electric by 134.8% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 624,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,424,000 after purchasing an additional 358,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,266,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FELE. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 price objective on Franklin Electric in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. DA Davidson set a $100.00 price target on Franklin Electric in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Electric presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.00.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co, Inc is a world‐leading manufacturer and distributor of systems and components for moving and managing water and fuel. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company specializes in designing engineered pumping systems and related controls for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Founded in 1944, Franklin Electric has built its reputation on submersible and surface pumping solutions for water wells, municipal water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and industrial fluid handling.