Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Given New $21.50 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $21.50 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 6.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BEN. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.46.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEN opened at $20.10 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.19. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $24.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEN. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 350.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 561.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

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.