Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) an average recommendation of "Reduce," with five sell ratings, six hold ratings, and four buy ratings.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings showed a revenue decline of 2.2% year-over-year, reporting $0.49 EPS against a market expectation of $0.46.
• Franklin Resources recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, translating to an annualized yield of 5.6% with a payout ratio of 250.98%.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.8333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $22.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $26.08. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.50.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Franklin Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,051,000. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 99.1% in the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 5,237,650 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $100,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,384,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.