Evercore ISI Lowers Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $17.00

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $19.00 to $17.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Evercore ISI's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.35% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BEN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.96.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

NYSE BEN traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.59. 1,324,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,338,542. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $25.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 4.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.5% in the fourth 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 stake in Franklin Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,661 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.