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

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.9091.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the second quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.16 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $26.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.40. The stock has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.44, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 140.66%.

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.