Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Cut to $20.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Key Points

• Analysts at Barclays have lowered Franklin Resources' target price from $23.00 to $20.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.68% from the current stock price.
• The stock has received mixed ratings, with four analysts giving it a Buy rating while six assigned a Hold and five a Sell rating, resulting in an average rating of "Reduce."
• In its latest earnings report, Franklin Resources reported $0.49 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate, but its revenue fell short at $2.06 billion, down 2.2% year-over-year.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential downside of 11.68% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BEN. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.83.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN opened at $22.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.50. Franklin Resources has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $26.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,051,000. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $100,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,618,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $51,384,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $32,293,000. Institutional investors 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.

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