Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) announced its earnings results on Friday. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 9.62%.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.14. 9,990,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,999,097. Franklin Resources has a 12 month low of $18.83 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.41. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.85 and a 200 day moving average of $21.01.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.78%. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.18.

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.