JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its price target for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from $22.00 to $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.38% from the current price.
• Other analysts also showed positive sentiments with Wells Fargo increasing their target to $26.00 and Goldman Sachs upgrading to a buy rating with a $29.00 price objective.
• Franklin Resources reported $0.49 EPS for the latest quarter, beating estimates, but its revenue declined by 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 15.38% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen reiterated 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.42.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 4.9%

NYSE:BEN traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.14. 1,708,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,604,045. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.06. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $25.36.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 88,685 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 240.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 100,975 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 71,308 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 910,234 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,469,000 after purchasing an additional 12,940 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Prudential PLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $436,000. 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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