Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Given New $64.00 Price Target at Hovde Group

Key Points

• Hovde Group raised its price target on Franklin Financial Services from $59.00 to $64.00 and kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 14.3% upside; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Buy" with a matching $64.00 target.
• The company reported a quarter of $1.48 EPS versus $1.34 expected and revenue of $23.88M (vs. $23.30M est.), with a return on equity of 14.4% and a net margin of 17.73%, signaling stronger-than-expected near-term results.
• Shares traded at $56.01 with a market cap of $251.48M and a P/E of 10.49 (12‑month range $33.44–$60.00), and institutional investors own about 24.8% of the stock with several funds recently increasing their stakes.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Hovde Group from $59.00 to $64.00 in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Hovde Group's target price points to a potential upside of 14.27% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

FRAF traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,808. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Franklin Financial Services has a twelve month low of $33.44 and a twelve month high of $60.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $52.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of -0.10.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.14. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 17.73%.The company had revenue of $23.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.30 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 84.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 64,715 shares of the company's stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 18.0% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 9,560 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.80% of the company's stock.

About Franklin Financial Services

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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