Should You Buy Franklin Resources Inc (BEN) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Hold
Latest Price
25.660
1 Day change
0.63%
52 Week Range
26.250
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
BEN is not a good buy right now for a beginner long-term investor who is impatient. Price is already above most recent Wall Street targets ($21–$25 vs. $25.64 today), momentum is weakening (MACD histogram negative and worsening), and the next major catalyst is earnings on 2026-01-30 pre-market—introducing near-term uncertainty without a strong proprietary buy signal to justify jumping in today.
Technical Analysis
Trend/structure: Bullish moving-average stack (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests the broader trend is still constructive. Momentum: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0614) and expanding lower, indicating weakening upside momentum/possible near-term pullback risk. RSI(6) ~52.7 is neutral (no strong overbought/oversold edge). Levels: Pivot ~25.486 is near current price (25.64). Immediate resistance at R1 ~26.083 then R2 ~26.453. Supports at S1 ~24.888 then S2 ~24.518. Near-term pattern stats provided imply mild weakness next day/week but potential +2.51% bias over the next month.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals:
**Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals**
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
- [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock today.
Options Data
Neutral
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Positioning/sentiment: Open interest put/call ratio ~1.04 is slightly put-leaning/defensive, while today’s volume put/call ratio ~0.8 is more call-leaning (mildly constructive near-term). Volatility: IV percentile 1.6 (IV rank 1) is extremely low, implying options are priced for relatively small moves; that often corresponds to complacency and can leave the stock exposed to sharper-than-priced moves around catalysts (notably earnings on 2026-01-30). Activity: Today’s volume vs 30-day average is elevated (18.62x), but absolute volume is still modest (245 contracts), so read as light-to-moderate interest rather than a strong institutional signal.
Technical Summary
Sell
0
Buy
11
Positive Catalysts
1) Alternatives credit platform consolidation: Benefit Street Partners and Alcentra merging under the BSP brand to drive synergies and expand geographically could support longer-term AUM and fee mix. 2) Product expansion: Launch of an Emerging Markets Debt ETF points to continued product development and potential inflows. 3) Potential event catalyst: Upcoming earnings (2026-01-30 pre-market) could re-rate the stock if results/outlook beat expectations.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
1) Earnings risk (near-term): With earnings imminent (2026-01-30 pre-market), a miss or weak guidance could quickly pressure shares—especially with weakening MACD momentum. 2) Street skepticism/limited upside: Multiple recent ratings remain negative (Underweight/Underperform) and most price targets sit below the current price, implying capped upside from here. 3) Profitability trend: Latest reported quarter shows sharp declines in net income and EPS YoY, which can keep sentiment constrained until the market is confident the earnings power is stabilizing.
Financial Performance
Latest quarter provided: 2025/Q4. Revenue rose to $2.466B (+7.54% YoY), showing top-line growth. However, profitability deteriorated sharply: net income $107.3M (-214.76% YoY) and EPS $0.21 (-216.67% YoY). Gross margin improved to 37.49% (+3.79% YoY). Overall: sales and margin improved, but earnings power weakened materially—this mixed profile is a key reason to avoid treating BEN as a clear ‘buy now’ ahead of the next earnings update.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: Mostly cautious to negative with price targets generally reduced/kept below the current price. Barclays (2025-12-12) kept Underweight and lifted target to $22 (still below $25.64). BofA (2025-12-10) kept Underperform and cut target to $21. JPMorgan (2025-11-10) stayed Neutral and trimmed target to $25. Overall Wall Street view (pros/cons): Pros—BEN can benefit if markets stay constructive and if performance fees/alternatives strategy execution improves. Cons—traditional asset manager exposure is viewed as more challenged, and current valuation (relative to targets) suggests limited upside until earnings/profitability re-accelerate.
Influential/politician trading: No recent congress trading data available; hedge funds and insiders are reported as Neutral with no significant recent trends.
Wall Street analysts forecast BEN stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for BEN is 23.83 USD with a low forecast of 21 USD and a high forecast of 31 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast BEN stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for BEN is 23.83 USD with a low forecast of 21 USD and a high forecast of 31 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
1 Buy
1 Hold
4 Sell
Moderate Sell
Current: 25.500
Low
21
Averages
23.83
High
31
Current: 25.500
Low
21
Averages
23.83
High
31
Goldman Sachs
Brendan Sproules
Neutral -> Buy
upgrade
$11.32
AI Analysis
2026-01-06
Reason
Goldman Sachs
Brendan Sproules
Price Target
$11.32
AI Analysis
2026-01-06
upgrade
Neutral -> Buy
Reason
Goldman Sachs analyst Brendan Sproules upgraded Bendigo and Adelaide to Buy from Neutral with a A$11.32 price target. The firm views the recent share selloff as creating an attractive entry point.
Barclays
Benjamin Budish
Underweight
maintain
$20 -> $22
2025-12-12
Reason
Barclays
Benjamin Budish
Price Target
$20 -> $22
2025-12-12
maintain
Underweight
Reason
Barclays analyst Benjamin Budish raised the firm's price target on Franklin Resources to $22 from $20 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the brokers, asset managers and exchanges group as part of its 2026. Market conditions "look constructive" going into 2026, particularly for the alternative asset managers and wealth brokers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays sees a more mixed outlook for the exchanges and traditional asset managers.
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