Franklin Resources Inc Valuation – May 2018 $BEN
Company Profile (excerpt from Reuters): Franklin Resources, Inc., incorporated on November 28, 1969, is a holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, operates as Franklin Templeton Investments. The Company is a global investment management company that provides investment management and related services to retail, institutional and high net-worth clients in jurisdictions around the world. The Company offers its investment products and services under the Franklin, Templeton, Franklin Mutual Series, Franklin Bissett, Fiduciary Trust, Darby, Balanced Equity Management, K2 and LibertyShares brand names. The Company’s products include investment funds and institutional, high net-worth and separately managed accounts (collectively, sponsored investment products (SIPs)). The Company offers various types of SIPs, such as the United States funds, cross-border funds, local/regional funds, and other managed accounts, alternative investment products and trusts.
Downloadable PDF version of this valuation:
ModernGraham Valuation of BEN – May 2018
Stage 1: Is this company suitable for the Defensive Investor or the Enterprising Investor?
What kind of Intelligent Investor are you?
| Defensive Investor; must pass 6 out of the following 7 tests. | ||||
| 1. Adequate Size of the Enterprise | Market Cap > $2Bil | $18,410,477,599 | Pass | |
| 2. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition | Current Ratio > 2 | 3.00 | Pass | |
| 3. Earnings Stability | Positive EPS for 10 years prior | Pass | ||
| 4. Dividend Record | Dividend Payments for 10 years prior | Pass | ||
| 5. Earnings Growth | Increase of 33% in EPS in past 10 years using 3 year averages at beginning and end | 13.52% | Fail | |
| 6. Moderate PEmg Ratio | PEmg < 20 | 13.96 | Pass | |
| 7. Moderate Price to Assets | PB Ratio < 2.5 OR PB*PEmg < 50 | 1.81 | Pass | |
| Enterprising Investor; must pass 4 out of the following 5 tests, or be suitable for the Defensive Investor. | ||||
| 1. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition | Current Ratio > 1.5 | 3.00 | Pass | |
| 2. Sufficiently Strong Financial Condition | Debt to NCA < 1.1 | 0.17 | Pass | |
| 3. Earnings Stability | Positive EPS for 5 years prior | Pass | ||
| 4. Dividend Record | Currently Pays Dividend | Pass | ||
| 5. Earnings Growth | EPSmg greater than 5 years ago | Fail | ||
Stage 2: Determination of Intrinsic Value
| EPSmg | $2.47 |
| MG Growth Estimate | -3.71% |
| MG Value | $4.29 |
| Opinion | Overvalued |
| MG Grade | B+ |
| MG Value based on 3% Growth | $35.80 |
| MG Value based on 0% Growth | $20.98 |
| Market Implied Growth Rate | 2.73% |
| Current Price | $34.47 |
| % of Intrinsic Value | 804.35% |
Franklin Resources, Inc. qualifies for both the Defensive Investor and the Enterprising Investor. The Defensive Investor is only initially concerned with the insufficient earnings growth over the last ten years. The Enterprising Investor is only concerned with the lack of earnings growth over the last five years. As a result, all value investors following the ModernGraham approach should feel comfortable proceeding with the analysis.
As for a valuation, the company appears to be Overvalued after seeing its EPSmg (normalized earnings) decline from $3.28 in 2014 to an estimated $2.47 for 2018. This level of demonstrated earnings growth does not support the market’s implied estimate of 2.73% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years. As a result, the ModernGraham valuation model, based on the Benjamin Graham value investing formula, returns an estimate of intrinsic value below the price.
At the time of valuation, further research into Franklin Resources, Inc. revealed the company was trading above its Graham Number of $24.36. The company pays a dividend of $0.8 per share, for a yield of 2.3%, putting it among the best dividend paying stocks today. Its PEmg (price over earnings per share – ModernGraham) was 13.96, which was below the industry average of 22.78, which by some methods of valuation makes it one of the most undervalued stocks in its industry. Finally, the company was trading above its Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) of $4.29.
Franklin Resources, Inc. performs fairly well in the ModernGraham grading system, scoring a B+.
Stage 3: Information for Further Research
| Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) | $4.29 |
| Graham Number | $24.36 |
| PEmg | 13.96 |
| Current Ratio | 3.00 |
| PB Ratio | 1.81 |
| Current Dividend | $0.80 |
| Dividend Yield | 2.32% |
| Number of Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth | 20 |
Useful Links:
| ModernGraham tagged articles | Morningstar |
| Google Finance | MSN Money |
| Yahoo Finance | Seeking Alpha |
| GuruFocus | SEC Filings |
Most Recent Balance Sheet Figures
| Balance Sheet Information | 3/1/2018 |
| Total Current Assets | $9,625,500,000 |
| Total Current Liabilities | $3,204,500,000 |
| Long-Term Debt | $1,078,800,000 |
| Total Assets | $17,690,000,000 |
| Intangible Assets | $2,242,300,000 |
| Total Liabilities | $7,287,800,000 |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) | 545,500,000 |
Earnings Per Share History
| EPS History | |
| Next Fiscal Year Estimate | $1.16 |
| Sep2017 | $3.01 |
| Sep2016 | $2.94 |
| Sep2015 | $3.29 |
| Sep2014 | $3.79 |
| Sep2013 | $3.37 |
| Sep2012 | $2.98 |
| Sep2011 | $2.87 |
| Sep2010 | $2.11 |
| Sep2009 | $1.28 |
| Sep2008 | $2.22 |
| Sep2007 | $2.34 |
| Sep2006 | $1.62 |
| Sep2005 | $1.35 |
| Sep2004 | $0.92 |
| Sep2003 | $0.66 |
| Sep2002 | $0.55 |
| Sep2001 | $0.64 |
| Sep2000 | $0.76 |
| Sep1999 | $0.56 |
| Sep1998 | $0.66 |
Earnings Per Share – ModernGraham History
| EPSmg History | |
| Next Fiscal Year Estimate | $2.47 |
| Sep2017 | $3.18 |
| Sep2016 | $3.26 |
| Sep2015 | $3.37 |
| Sep2014 | $3.28 |
| Sep2013 | $2.86 |
| Sep2012 | $2.50 |
| Sep2011 | $2.23 |
| Sep2010 | $1.91 |
| Sep2009 | $1.80 |
| Sep2008 | $1.93 |
| Sep2007 | $1.65 |
| Sep2006 | $1.21 |
| Sep2005 | $0.94 |
| Sep2004 | $0.73 |
| Sep2003 | $0.63 |
| Sep2002 | $0.63 |
Recommended Reading:
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Disclaimer:
The author did not hold a position in any company mentioned in this article at the time of publication and had no intention of changing that position within the next 72 hours.  See my current holdings here.  This article is not investment advice; any reader should speak to a registered investment adviser prior to making any investment decisions.  ModernGraham is not affiliated with the company in any manner.  Please be sure to review our detailed disclaimer.
