Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Friday. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.04. 8,989,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,270,856. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.20. The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $24.86.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Franklin Resources's payout ratio is 196.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.96.

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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