Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FRAF. Hovde Group lowered Franklin Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Stock Performance

FRAF stock opened at $62.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.96 and its 200-day moving average is $54.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $280.98 million, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of -0.02. Franklin Financial Services has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $64.88.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.14. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.13% and a net margin of 17.73%.The business had revenue of $23.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.30 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Franklin Financial Services news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of Franklin Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $80,822.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $323,865.30. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 391,773.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,125,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,504,000 after purchasing an additional 16,121,459 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 29,637 shares in the last quarter. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

Franklin Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a U.S.‐listed specialty finance company that makes and acquires secured loans, with a focus on asset-based lending and mortgage warehouse financing. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, FFS Investment Company, a Maryland corporation regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Franklin Financial provides revolving lines of credit, term loans and other credit facilities secured primarily by residential and commercial mortgage loans, receivables and inventory.