Franklin Resources' (BEN) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed its Market Perform rating on Franklin Resources and raised its price target from $37 to $38, implying 5.48% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $36.78.
• Franklin Resources beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.94 per share versus a $0.77 consensus, while revenue rose 3.9% year over year to $1.88 billion.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reaffirmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 price target on the closed-end fund's stock, up from their previous price target of $37.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods's target price points to a potential upside of 5.48% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Franklin Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.78.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 6.8%

BEN traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.02. 1,836,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,699,145. The stock has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.56. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $36.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The closed-end fund reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 390.0% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 980 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a global investment management company that operates under the Franklin Templeton name. It offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and other clients, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts.

The company invests across a range of asset classes and strategies, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios and alternative investments. Its services also include retirement solutions and wealth management.

Founded in 1947, Franklin Resources has grown through acquisitions, including its 2020 acquisition of Legg Mason.

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