Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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 daily trading volume, of 372,838 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 372,838 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Key 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FELE has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $112.00 target price on Franklin Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Electric in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Two investment 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 target price of $112.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FELE. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Franklin Electric during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Franklin Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 31.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Electric by 213.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Franklin Electric by 36.5% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Electric Price Performance

Shares of FELE traded down $16.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $92.90. 1,094,796 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,048. Franklin Electric has a 52-week low of $78.87 and a 52-week high of $111.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.10.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $506.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.25 million. Franklin Electric had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Franklin Electric’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Franklin Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Franklin Electric will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Franklin Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Franklin Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.48%.

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.