Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Franklin Electric from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Franklin Electric Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of FELE opened at $98.72 on Wednesday. Franklin Electric has a 12-month low of $82.61 and a 12-month high of $107.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.04). Franklin Electric had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $460.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregg C. Sengstack sold 10,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total transaction of $1,036,185.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,993 shares in the company, valued at $15,493,100.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 88.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Electric by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

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.