Zacks Research Has Bearish Estimate for BEN Q1 Earnings

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) – Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Franklin Resources in a report issued on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the closed-end fund will earn $0.53 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.56. The consensus estimate for Franklin Resources’ current full-year earnings is $2.40 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Franklin Resources’ Q2 2025 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.33 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.61 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.72 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.56 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.99 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 2.1 %

BEN opened at $22.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Franklin Resources has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.73.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEN. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,119 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 78,486 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,540 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 412,881 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,607,000 after buying an additional 35,577 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $710,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $979,000. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Franklin Resources

In other news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,908,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. The trade was a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. The trade was a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,051,375 in the last ninety days. 24.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.