Franklin Universal Trust Common Stock (FT)

FairStock Score: 60/100 — STEADY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I approach Franklin Universal Trust as a closed-end balanced fund, not an operating company with a durable competitive moat. It owns utility stocks and corporate bonds, so its returns depend on Franklin Advisers' portfolio choices, interest rates, credit spreads, and the discount at which the shares trade. At the 2026-10-13 close of $7.15, the FairStock figures show a P/E of 5.50, P/B of 0.79, and a Graham Number of $16.28, implying a 56.08% margin of safety. The 6.93% dividend yield and beta of 0.64 make it look defensive, and D/E of 0.26 suggests leverage is not extreme. But quality signals are mixed: ROE is 9.18%, ROCE only 2.94%, Piotroski F-Score is 2/9, and Altman Z-Score is 2.40. Those are not the marks of a fortress balance sheet or a high-return business; for a fund, they may reflect portfolio and leverage characteristics. Growth is not visible in the supplied data—revenue and profit growth are N/A, and the computed Lynch category is none because only 0 years of filed results exist, versus the 3 years needed. The price sits near the low end of its 52-week range of $6.95-$8.35. So I see a statistically cheap, income-heavy vehicle with limited moat and uncertain distribution coverage. Cheapness alone is not enough; I would want evidence that the yield is earned and the discount to asset value can narrow.

In plain English: This is a fund that owns utility company stocks and corporate bonds. It pays a high income to shareholders, and its share price looks low compared with its assets and profits. However, some simple health checks are weak, so the low price may reflect real risks.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer