Franklin Electric Co Inc

Franklin Electric has acquired high-pressure pump manufacturer Cat Pumps for $350 million in cash, with a potential earnout of up to $50 million in stock, expanding its commercial and industrial flow-control business. The deal closed September 4 and was funded with available cash and existing credit facilities. Cat Pumps, based in Minneapolis, generated about $115 million in revenue and $45 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2025, implying a roughly 39% margin. The upfront price is about 7.8 times adjusted EBITDA, potentially rising to 8.9 times if the earnout is paid. Franklin Electric expects the acquisition to boost adjusted earnings per share in 2027 and expand its addressable market by over $1 billion, while maintaining net leverage around 1.5 times to support growth and dividend increases.

Five Nasdaq-listed companies—Wintrust Financial, Silicon Motion Technology, Franklin Electric, TriMas, and Eagle Bancorp—all go ex-dividend on August 6, 2026, meaning investors must buy shares by market close today, August 5, to qualify for their upcoming quarterly payouts. Wintrust Financial raised its dividend 10% to $0.55 per share, yielding 1.32%, while Franklin Electric extended a multi-decade streak of increases with a $0.28 payout. Silicon Motion Technology offers a $0.50 dividend but has surged 184% year to date on AI storage demand, making its 0.79% yield a thin label on a high-growth stock. Eagle Bancorp slashed its dividend 94% to just $0.01 amid negative earnings and $47.9 million in net charge-offs, flagging it as a credit turnaround bet rather than an income play. TriMas pays a token $0.04 quarterly dividend, unchanged for years, representing a modest capital-return feature.

Franklin Electric reported second-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.55, beating analyst estimates by $0.12, while revenue rose 6% year-over-year to $622.9 million, exceeding expectations by $16.97 million. The company also raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now projecting adjusted diluted earnings per share between $4.50 and $4.70, compared to a consensus estimate of $4.59, and net sales in the range of $2.21 billion to $2.29 billion, versus a consensus of $2.23 billion.