Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) Stock Price Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Franklin Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:FRAF) traded up 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $64.42 and last traded at $63.84. 75,789 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 154% from the average daily volume of 29,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRAF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hovde Group lowered shares of Franklin Financial Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Franklin Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Franklin Financial Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin Financial Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Franklin Financial Services Stock Up 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $286.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.04.

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

Franklin Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Franklin Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Franklin Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven D. Butz sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $323,865.30. This trade represents a 19.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Financial Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Financial Services by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Franklin Financial Services by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Franklin Financial Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 64,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. 24.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Financial Services

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.