Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Lowered to “Market Perform” Rating by Hovde Group

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Hovde Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FRAF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Franklin Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Price Performance

Franklin Financial Services stock opened at $61.13 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.06. 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 firm has a market cap of $274.47 million and a P/E ratio of 11.45. Franklin Financial Services has a 52 week low of $33.44 and a 52 week high of $62.84.

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.14. Franklin Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.13% and a net margin of 17.73%.The company had revenue of $23.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.30 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Franklin Financial Services news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,865.30. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 5.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Franklin Financial Services by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 75,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 29,637 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 8,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.80% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Financial Services Company Profile

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.