Financial Contrast: Franklin Resources (BEN) vs. Its Rivals

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) is one of 1,744 public companies in the “Capital Markets” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Franklin Resources to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Franklin Resources and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Resources	8.72%	11.55%	4.46%
Franklin Resources Competitors	313.70%	79.21%	3.63%

Risk and Volatility

Franklin Resources has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Resources’ peers have a beta of 0.81, suggesting that their average share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.6% of Franklin Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.4% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Franklin Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Franklin Resources and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Franklin Resources	$8.77 billion	$524.90 million	21.71
Franklin Resources Competitors	$2.54 billion	$394.83 million	17.06

Franklin Resources has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Franklin Resources is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Franklin Resources and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Resources	1	6	4	0	2.27
Franklin Resources Competitors	5546	20106	22438	641	2.37

Franklin Resources currently has a consensus price target of $35.89, indicating a potential upside of 12.45%. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies have a potential upside of 25.27%. Given Franklin Resources’ peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Franklin Resources has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

Franklin Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Franklin Resources pays out 89.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 30.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Franklin Resources has increased its dividend for 45 consecutive years.

Summary

Franklin Resources peers beat Franklin Resources on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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.