Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Short Interest Up 20.1% in January

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 633,318 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the January 15th total of 527,198 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 372,838 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 372,838 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 target price on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.00.

Franklin Electric Trading Down 14.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FELE traded down $16.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $92.90. 1,094,796 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,048. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.10. Franklin Electric has a 1 year low of $78.87 and a 1 year high of $111.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.02). The company 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 14.24% and a net margin of 6.71%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Franklin Electric will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Franklin Electric’s payout ratio is 36.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FELE. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Franklin Electric by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 40,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after buying an additional 3,986 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Franklin Electric in the third quarter worth about $1,181,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Electric by 38.7% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 45,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 12,675 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Electric by 11.8% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 90,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,576,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 220.2% during the second quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 8,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Franklin Electric News

Here are the key news stories impacting Franklin Electric this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $4.40–$4.60 and revenue guidance around $2.2 billion, which is roughly in line with street expectations and gives a clear earnings target for the year. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals show year‑over‑year improvement: Q4 EPS rose to $0.87 from $0.72 a year ago and revenue increased ~4.4% versus last year, indicating ongoing organic growth. Listen to Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for investors to review management commentary and segment detail. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Q4 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre‑earnings coverage and previews are available for additional analyst context. Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed consensus: EPS of $0.87 vs. $0.89 expected, and revenue of $506.86M vs. $516.25M expected — the misses likely drove the immediate negative reaction. Q4 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Trading showed a large volume spike versus average volume and the shares moved lower on the report, suggesting heightened selling pressure as investors digested the misses despite reasonable guidance. Market Data

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.