Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock Price

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $25.09.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $26.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.46. Franklin Resources has a 52-week low of $16.25 and a 52-week high of $26.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.02.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The closed-end fund reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Franklin Resources by 3,869.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 277.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 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.