Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Stock

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.50 to $24.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.27% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Franklin Resources Stock Performance

Shares of BEN stock opened at $20.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.95. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.83 and a one year high of $28.61. 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 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 net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 9.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $880,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Franklin Resources by 9.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 32,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 44.7% during the third 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, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Franklin Resources by 78.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 62,076 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 27,259 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.