Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN – Get Free Report) and B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ:RILY – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Franklin Resources and B. Riley Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Franklin Resources | 4.32% | 9.45% | 3.87% |
| B. Riley Financial | -48.04% | -236.88% | -11.40% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings for Franklin Resources and B. Riley Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Franklin Resources | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.58 |
| B. Riley Financial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Dividends
Franklin Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. B. Riley Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 61.9%. Franklin Resources pays out 196.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. B. Riley Financial pays out -7.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Franklin Resources has raised its dividend for 45 consecutive years. B. Riley Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
47.6% of Franklin Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of B. Riley Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.9% of Franklin Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.9% of B. Riley Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Franklin Resources has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, B. Riley Financial has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Franklin Resources and B. Riley Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Franklin Resources | $8.74 billion | 1.13 | $464.80 million | $0.65 | 28.88 |
| B. Riley Financial | $1.44 billion | 0.07 | -$99.91 million | ($27.77) | -0.12 |
Franklin Resources has higher revenue and earnings than B. Riley Financial. B. Riley Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Franklin Resources beats B. Riley Financial on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About B. Riley Financial
B. Riley Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides financial services to corporate, institutional, and high net worth clients in North America, Australia, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. The company operates through six segments: Capital Markets, Wealth Management, Financial Consulting, Auction and Liquidation, Communications, and Consumer. The Capital Markets segments offers investment banking, equity research, institutional sales and trading, securities lending, fund and asset management, direct lending, venture capital, proprietary trading, and investment services; merger and acquisition, restructuring advisory, and recapitalization services; public and private equity offerings; and debt financing solutions. This segment also trades in equity securities. The Wealth Management segment provides wealth management and tax services. The Financial Consulting segment offers bankruptcy restructuring and turnaround management, forensic accounting and litigation support, valuation and appraisal, and real estate services. The Auction and Liquidation Segment provides auction and liquidation services. The Communications segment offers dial-up, mobile broadband and digital subscriber line services under the NetZero and Juno brands; cloud communication services; VoIP cloud-based technology and communication devices and subscription services through magicJack; and mobile phone voice, text, and data services and devices through Marconi Wireless. The Consumer segment sells laptop and computer accessories. The company was formerly known as Great American Group, Inc. and changed its name to B. Riley Financial, Inc. in November 2014. B. Riley Financial, Inc. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
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