Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target Raised to $21.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $21.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential downside of 5.49% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BEN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock opened at $22.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.83 and a fifty-two week high of $28.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.97. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 148,750 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 93,724 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 grew its position 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 grew its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.