Zacks Research Has Bearish Estimate for BEN FY2025 Earnings

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Franklin Resources in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the closed-end fund will post earnings of $2.32 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.33. The consensus estimate for Franklin Resources’ current full-year earnings is $2.39 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Franklin Resources’ Q4 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.49 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Franklin Resources from $19.50 to $22.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.66.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $20.88 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.48. The company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after buying an additional 599,045 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after acquiring an additional 676,760 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 44.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $345,309.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,245.49. This represents a 17.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 24,024 shares of company stock worth $1,051,375 over the last 90 days. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

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.