Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $35.89 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts broadly rate Franklin Resources “Hold”: Of 11 covering firms, six issued hold ratings, four recommended buying, and one issued a sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $35.89, versus shares opening at $31.66.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: Franklin Resources reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, above the $0.66 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.36 billion versus forecasts of $1.76 billion.
• The company offers a 4.2% dividend yield: Its quarterly dividend is $0.33 per share, or $1.32 annualized, although the payout ratio is relatively high at 89.8%.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.89.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Barclays restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of BEN opened at $31.66 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28. The company has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.78 and a 200 day moving average of $30.20.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio is 89.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,845,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,850,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at $152,692,000. Kopernik Global Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 4.6% during the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 3,522,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $83,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 37.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,964,424 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $46,400,000 after purchasing an additional 533,192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company provides investment solutions to individuals, financial professionals, institutions, and other clients worldwide.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional portfolios, and alternative investment strategies. Through its investment teams and specialist affiliates, Franklin Templeton offers capabilities across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, private markets, real assets, and other areas of asset management.

Franklin Resources was founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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