Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BEN. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Franklin Resources from $30.50 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.33.

Franklin Resources Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $33.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.05. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $34.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Prana Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 860,762 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $19,909,000 after acquiring an additional 495,747 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 35.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,101,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $48,596,000 after purchasing an additional 554,842 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 234.0% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 99,631 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 69,802 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 5.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,065,908 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $232,833,000 after purchasing an additional 553,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 413.8% in the fourth quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund now owns 66,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 53,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.