Wall Street Zen Downgrades Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) to Hold

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Hovde Group lowered Franklin Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Stock Performance

Franklin Financial Services stock opened at $62.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Franklin Financial Services has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $64.88. The company has a market cap of $279.64 million, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of -0.02.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Franklin Financial Services had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 14.13%. The firm had revenue of $24.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.70 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Financial Services news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of Franklin Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $80,822.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $323,865.30. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRAF. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Franklin Financial Services by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 29,637 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 8,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a U.S.‐listed specialty finance company that makes and acquires secured loans, with a focus on asset-based lending and mortgage warehouse financing. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, FFS Investment Company, a Maryland corporation regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Franklin Financial provides revolving lines of credit, term loans and other credit facilities secured primarily by residential and commercial mortgage loans, receivables and inventory.