Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price boosted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.49% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 10.3 %

BEN stock opened at $22.22 on Monday. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 93,724 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $290,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 105.7% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 36,791 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 18,903 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,358 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 59,818 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

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.