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

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a large 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. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

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

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 148.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Franklin Resources from $22.50 to $20.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Franklin Resources by 250.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,450,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 1,751,587 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 263.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,022,055 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,148 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 517.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,406,324 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,998,574 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $60,421,000 after purchasing an additional 925,590 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 110.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,623,236 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,279,000 after purchasing an additional 851,442 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.