Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives $23.83 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five 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 target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.8333.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BEN. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.84 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.50. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $26.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.91.

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

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 250.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 49.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,245 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 20,968 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.