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

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

Dividends

Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Franklin Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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.

Profitability

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

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund and Franklin Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund	$303.67 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Franklin Resources	$8.77 billion	2.07	$524.90 million	$1.47	24.30

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund and Franklin Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Franklin Resources has a consensus target price of $32.44, indicating a potential downside of 9.19%. Given Franklin Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Franklin Resources is more favorable than Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.6% of Franklin Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Franklin Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

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

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.

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.