292,503 Shares in Franklin Financial Services Corp. $FRAF Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 292,503 shares of Franklin Financial Services in the second quarter, valued at approximately $18.3 million and representing a 6.51% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 24.80% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.00, although one brokerage downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Franklin Financial Services reported quarterly EPS of $1.47, slightly above estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 292,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,311,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 6.51% of Franklin Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 391,773.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,125,574 shares of the company's stock worth $809,504,000 after acquiring an additional 16,121,459 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 109.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,224 shares of the company's stock worth $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 51,407 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 69,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,496,000 after buying an additional 5,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FRAF. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Franklin Financial Services from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.00.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Financial Services stock opened at $63.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of -0.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.78. Franklin Financial Services Corp. has a 12 month low of $43.47 and a 12 month high of $65.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $24.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.70 million. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 18.20%.

Franklin Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Franklin Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 24.77%.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

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.

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