Short Interest in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Rises By 6.7%

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. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Franklin Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.18.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.56. 3,811,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,070,066. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.14 and a 200-day moving average of $21.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

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

Franklin Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Franklin Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEN. Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 108,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,585 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 30.2% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,485 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.