Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Underperform Rating for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating restated by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 price target on the closed-end fund’s stock, down from their previous price target of $20.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential downside of 7.86% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE BEN traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $20.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,131,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,033,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.20 and its 200 day moving average is $21.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,055. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Franklin Resources news, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.66 per share, for a total transaction of $249,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,637,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,857,182. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Company insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.