Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.64.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $26.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.03. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $26.90.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 5.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 41.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 610,923 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $14,571,000 after buying an additional 11,411 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Franklin Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Franklin Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and stronger profitability: BEN reported $0.70 EPS vs. a $0.55 consensus and higher net income and operating income versus prior periods — a core driver of the rally because earnings power beat expectations. Investing.com: Earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management and net inflows improved: Several reports note sequential AUM growth and net inflows, which lift fee revenue prospects and support recurring revenue. This helped sentiment alongside the earnings beat. Zacks: AUM rises
• Positive Sentiment: Operational detail and management commentary available: The company released a formal press release, slide deck and an earnings-call transcript with details on margins, flows and strategy — useful for confirming sustainability of the beat. BusinessWire: Q1 results Seeking Alpha: Call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-driven fee tailwind but revenue mix matters: Coverage notes that market rallies boosted fee income (helpful), but revenue comparisons and sustainability depend on future flows and market levels — worth watching in coming quarters. MSN: Profit rises
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and caution: Morgan Stanley issued a “sell” and broker consensus on some screens is “reduce” — these downgrades can cap upside despite the quarter, as analysts point to cautious outlook or valuation concerns. Globe and Mail: Morgan Stanley sell AmericanBankingNews: Consensus Reduce
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue reporting discrepancies and mixed headlines: Some headlines say revenue topped estimates while others highlight misses versus certain analyst models — this mixed signal can create short-term volatility until the market parses the underlying drivers. Yahoo Finance: Q4/CY2025 recap

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.