Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday.

FRAF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group cut shares of Franklin Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

FRAF opened at $62.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $279.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of -0.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.22. Franklin Financial Services has a 12-month low of $38.52 and a 12-month high of $64.88.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $24.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.70 million. Franklin Financial Services had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 14.21%.

Franklin Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Franklin Financial Services’s payout ratio is 25.47%.

Insider Activity at Franklin Financial Services

In other news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $80,822.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,610 shares in the company, valued at $323,865.30. This trade represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 391,773.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,125,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,504,000 after buying an additional 16,121,459 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a U.S.‐listed specialty finance company that makes and acquires secured loans, with a focus on asset-based lending and mortgage warehouse financing. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, FFS Investment Company, a Maryland corporation regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Franklin Financial provides revolving lines of credit, term loans and other credit facilities secured primarily by residential and commercial mortgage loans, receivables and inventory.