Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The closed-end fund reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Franklin Resources Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of BEN traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.95. The stock had a trading volume of 555,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,642,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.79 and its 200 day moving average is $26.37. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $21.88 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BEN. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Franklin Resources in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Franklin Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

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.