Franklin Financial Services Co. (NASDAQ:FRAF) Short Interest Down 33.9% in February

Franklin Financial Services Co. (NASDAQ:FRAF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,100 shares, a decrease of 33.9% from the January 31st total of 6,200 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRAF traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.52. 13,737 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,568. Franklin Financial Services has a 52 week low of $25.11 and a 52 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.49. The company has a market cap of $165.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Franklin Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.41%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Financial Services

In other Franklin Financial Services news, Director Gregory A. Duffey acquired 3,000 shares of Franklin Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.90 per share, for a total transaction of $101,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,209.80. This trade represents a 14.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 3,060 shares of company stock worth $103,816 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 62,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Financial Services during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 440,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,280,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. 24.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Franklin Financial Services

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.