Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) Short Interest Up 76.3% in June

Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 102,006 shares, a growth of 76.3% from the June 15th total of 57,861 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 38,914 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FRAF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Hovde Group lowered shares of Franklin Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Financial Services news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total value of $80,822.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,865.30. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $79,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Franklin Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

FRAF traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,721. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of -0.02. Franklin Financial Services has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $64.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.30 million. Franklin Financial Services had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 14.13%.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

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.