Short Interest in Franklin Financial Services Co. (NASDAQ:FRAF) Declines By 33.9%

Franklin Financial Services Co. (NASDAQ:FRAF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,100 shares, a drop of 33.9% from the January 31st total of 6,200 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRAF opened at $37.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $166.44 million, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.34. Franklin Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $25.11 and a fifty-two week high of $38.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.55 and a 200-day moving average of $32.36.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 9.64%.

Franklin Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory A. Duffey bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.90 per share, with a total value of $101,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,209.80. This represents a 14.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought 3,060 shares of company stock valued at $103,816 over the last ninety days. 6.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRAF. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in Franklin Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $32,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 440,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,280,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Franklin Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $205,000. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

Franklin Financial Services Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Chambersburg that provides commercial, retail banking, and trust services to businesses, individuals, governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in Pennsylvania. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, money management, and time deposit accounts, as well as demand deposits.