Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,670,000 shares, a growth of 34.0% from the January 31st total of 13,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately 6.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.42. 2,760,860 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,729,347. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $21.88 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.98.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The closed-end fund reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alok Sethi sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.27, for a total transaction of $643,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,978.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,682 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,373 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,974 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Franklin Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.05.

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.