Key Points
- EVP Steven Butz sold 1,400 shares of Franklin Financial Services at an average price of $57.73, totaling about $80,822. After the sale, he still owned 5,610 shares.
- The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.48 EPS versus the $1.34 consensus estimate, with revenue also coming in above forecasts at $23.88 million.
- Franklin Financial Services raised its quarterly dividend to $0.34 per share from $0.33, implying an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 25.47%.
Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF - Get Free Report) EVP Steven Butz sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $80,822.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,610 shares in the company, valued at $323,865.30. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Franklin Financial Services Stock Down 1.9%
NASDAQ:FRAF opened at $57.02 on Tuesday. Franklin Financial Services Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $33.44 and a fifty-two week high of $60.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.02 million and a P/E ratio of 10.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $55.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.65.
Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.30 million. Franklin Financial Services had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 14.13%.
Franklin Financial Services Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Franklin Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Franklin Financial Services's payout ratio is 25.47%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 391,773.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,125,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $809,504,000 after purchasing an additional 16,121,459 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 109.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 51,407 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 333.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 45,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 34,982 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 29,637 shares during the period. Finally, Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $1,231,000. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently commented on FRAF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franklin Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Franklin Financial Services from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FRAF
Franklin Financial Services Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Franklin Financial Services, Inc (NASDAQ: FRAF) is a U.S.‐listed specialty finance company that makes and acquires secured loans, with a focus on asset-based lending and mortgage warehouse financing. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, FFS Investment Company, a Maryland corporation regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Franklin Financial provides revolving lines of credit, term loans and other credit facilities secured primarily by residential and commercial mortgage loans, receivables and inventory.
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