Analyzing Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) & Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund (NASDAQ:CHI)

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) and Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund (NASDAQ:CHI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Dividends

Franklin Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. Franklin Resources pays out 89.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Franklin Resources has increased its dividend for 45 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Franklin Resources and Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Franklin Resources	$9.32 billion	1.84	$524.90 million	$1.47	22.97
Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund	$303.67 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Franklin Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

47.6% of Franklin Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.4% of Franklin Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Franklin Resources and Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Resources	2	4	4	1	2.36
Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund	0	0	0	0	0.00

Franklin Resources currently has a consensus price target of $32.44, indicating a potential downside of 3.91%. Given Franklin Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Franklin Resources is more favorable than Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund.

Profitability

This table compares Franklin Resources and Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Resources	8.72%	11.55%	4.46%
Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Franklin Resources beats Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The firm invests in the public equity, fixed income, and alternative markets. Franklin Resources, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in San Mateo, California with an additional office in Calgary, Canada; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Fort Lauderdale, United States; Hyderabad, India; London, United Kingdom; Rancho Cordova, United states; Shanghai, China; Singapore; Stamford, United States; and Vienna, Austria.

About Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund

Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Calamos Investments LLC. It is managed by Calamos Advisors LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of convertible securities and high yield corporate bonds rated Ba or lower by Moody's or BB or lower by Standard & Poor's. The fund employs both fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on such factors as financial soundness, ability to make interest and dividend payments, earnings and cash-flow forecast, and quality of management to create its portfolio. Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund was formed on April 17, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.