Running Oak Capital LLC Acquires 10,975 Shares of Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE)

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) by 11.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 103,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,975 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Franklin Electric were worth $11,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Electric in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Electric during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Franklin Electric stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.34. 452,258 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,150. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.61 and a 52-week high of $107.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.74. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $460.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.64 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Franklin Electric Co., Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 1st. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $136,318.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,774,094. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Franklin Electric news, insider Delancey W. Davis sold 2,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.06, for a total value of $225,960.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,014 shares in the company, valued at $817,908.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan M. Grandon sold 1,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $136,318.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,103 shares in the company, valued at $1,774,094. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.