SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › BAC vs BEN

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN)

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$47.01
VS
BEN
Franklin Resources, Inc.
$23.87

Rewards

BAC
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $2.37 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.58 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
BEN
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.36 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.

Risks

BAC
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Bank of America Corporation scores only 20/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
BEN
  • ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 7.3% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.41 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
BAC
BEN
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$911.60M
N/A
FCF Yield
7.32%
12.34
Trailing P/E
22.10
9.49
Forward P/E
8.17
Quality & Moat
4.61%
ROIC
6.44%
N/A
ROE
3.65%
0.00%
Gross Margin
37.04%
0.58
PEG Ratio
0.36
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Debt / Equity
0.25
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
0.51
2.38%
Dividend Yield
5.53%
BAC: 1Ties: 1BEN: 5
BACBEN

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
BAC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

BEN

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
BAC
$2.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$55.63B
Δ Market Cap
+$131.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
BEN
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-74.9M
Δ Market Cap
$-733.3M
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

Learn more →
BAC
64.3% Margin of Safety
Price is 64.3% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $47.01
Fair Value: $131.82
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
BEN
3.7% Margin of Safety
Price is 3.7% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $23.87
Fair Value: $24.78
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

BEN

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $24?

+10.9%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +3.4%

The market implies +10.9% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +3.4%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
BAC
20/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though revenue predictability shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
BEN
47/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with reinvestment efficiency as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
BAC
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
BEN
-2.53
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

Learn more →
BAC
Insiders 7.3%Institutions 71.2%Retail & Other 21.5%
No. of Institutional Holders4,445
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
BEN
Insiders 48.4%Institutions 48.1%Retail & Other 3.5%
No. of Institutional Holders808
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

Learn more →
BAC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
BEN
0
Buys (3M)
3
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $2.14M
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$1.06M
@ $21.20 · 2025-11-20
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$1.07M
@ $21.49 · 2025-11-18
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$7,442
@ $17.72 · 2025-04-04
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$1.96M
@ $19.57 · 2025-03-04
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$1.91M
@ $19.08 · 2024-09-11
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$1.98M
@ $19.84 · 2024-08-29
JOHNSON JENNIFER M
Chief Executive Officer
$249,738
@ $19.66 · 2024-08-28
JOHNSON JENNIFER M
Chief Executive Officer
$396,021
@ $20.95 · 2024-08-23
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$4.56M
@ $22.80 · 2024-06-21
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$2.23M
@ $22.29 · 2024-06-18
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
BAC
5
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 2026-03-05
ATHANASIA DEAN C
President
$6.86M
@ $50.21 · 2026-03-03
BORTHWICK ALASTAIR M.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.42M
@ $50.24 · 2026-02-27
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$3.66M
@ $39.80 · 2024-08-27
HANS LINDSAY D
Officer
$402,410
@ $36.91 · 2024-08-05
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
BEN
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $7,379
JOHNSON CHARLES B
Beneficial Owner of more than 10% of a Class of Security
$7,379
@ $17.57 · 2025-04-04
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

Learn more →
BAC
FearGreed
😐Neutral(47/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
BEN
FearGreed
😐Neutral(46/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

Learn more →
BAC
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (47)
BEN
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (46)
View BAC Full AnalysisView BEN Full Analysis