Barclays Cuts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $19.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Barclays from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 2.84% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEN opened at $19.56 on Friday. Franklin Resources has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $28.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.16.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 32,904 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,950 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $71,171,000 after buying an additional 54,063 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Franklin Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 83,401 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 870,318 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $19,432,000 after acquiring an additional 316,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Franklin Resources by 158.8% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 40,765 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 25,014 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.