Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, June 16th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.25.

Franklin Resources Trading Up 3.9%

BEN stock opened at $23.80 on Thursday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $26.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.46.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The closed-end fund reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 3.73%.Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 250.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 464,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $8,937,000 after acquiring an additional 85,407 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 5.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,576 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,530 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $811,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 476,253 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $9,168,000 after buying an additional 19,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.