Franklin Electric Rewards Shareholders With 21% Dividend Hike

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:FELE) has announced that it is rewarding shareholders in the form of a hike in the quarterly dividend rate. We believe that such shareholder-friendly policies reflect the company’s strong cash position and its commitment toward returning high value to shareholders.

As revealed, the company’s board of directors approved 21% or 2.5 cents per share hike in the quarterly dividend rate, which now moved from 12 cents to 14.5 cents. On an annualized basis, the dividend increased to 58 cents per share from 48 cents.

Franklin Electric will pay the revised dividend on Feb 15, 2019, to shareholders of record as of Feb 1.

Sound Shareholder-Friendly Policies

Franklin Electric firmly believes in rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments. Over the last five years (2013-2017), the company hiked its dividend payment every year, with 31 cents per share distributed in 2013 and 42 cents paid in 2017.

In the first nine months of 2018, the company paid a cash dividend of 34.75 cents per share or approximately $17 million to its shareholders. During this period, the company hiked its quarterly dividend rate by roughly 11.6% in April.

In addition to dividend payments, the company rewards its shareholders through the repurchase of common stock. In the first nine months of 2018, it bought back roughly $12.1 million worth of common shares.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

With a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, Franklin Electric currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past three months, the company’s shares have yielded a 16.6% return against the industry’s decline of 0.7%.



Further, earnings estimates for the company remained unchanged at $2.24 for 2018 and $2.43 for 2019 in the past 60 days. On a year-over-year basis, estimates reflect growth of 16.7% for 2018 and 8.7% for 2019.

Franklin Electric Co., Inc. Price and Consensus