Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from thirteen analysts, with five recommending a sell, five a hold, and three a buy.
• The company's average 12-month target price is $23.42, with Barclays setting a price target of $23.00 and Cowen upgrading its rating to "buy" with a target of $27.00.
• Franklin Resources recently reported EPS of $0.49 for the last quarter, beating estimates, but its revenue declined by 2.2% year-over-year, totaling $2.06 billion.

Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.4167.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $100,825,000 after buying an additional 2,607,460 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 173.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,531,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $71,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,935,292 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $59,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,438,863 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,403,875 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $24.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $16.25 and a 12 month high of $25.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.98%.

About Franklin Resources

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.

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