Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.8333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.50.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,051,000. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 99.1% in the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $100,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,384,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.