Wall Street Zen Downgrades Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) to Hold

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. 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 note on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.09.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $23.63 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $26.08. The firm has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.71 and a 200 day moving average of $23.62. 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 announced 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. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BEN. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 102,708 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Franklin Resources by 4.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 3.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.5% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 122,857 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 7.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.