Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Update

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,150,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 23,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEN. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources during the third quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 254.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BEN shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.56. 3,811,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,070,066. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.41. Franklin Resources has a 1 year low of $18.83 and a 1 year high of $28.61.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 148.84%.

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.