Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BEN. Bank of America increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.91.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $23.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.47. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $26.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The closed-end fund reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. Franklin Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. increased its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. now owns 1,283 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.