Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Franklin Resources' stock hit a new 52‑week high, trading as high as $30.36 and last at $30.47 on volume of about 6.6 million shares, up roughly 2.5%.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $28.56, though some firms raised targets (JPMorgan to $31) and a few upgraded to Buy while others remain cautious.
• Franklin beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.71 versus $0.55 expected and revenue of $1.75 billion (vs. $1.70B), with revenue up 8.7% year‑over‑year.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.36 and last traded at $30.4710, with a volume of 6592857 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BEN shares. Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.56.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.71.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 8.12%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company's stock.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm's core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton's product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.

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