Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on FBRT. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE FBRT opened at $12.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.99. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $11.99 and a 12-month high of $14.11.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 173.17%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 47,650 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 24,633 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,939,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,335,000 after purchasing an additional 9,428 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 35.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 175,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 45,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Benefit Street Partners operates as a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). BSP earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of residential mortgage pass-through securities consisting almost exclusively of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (together, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)), or by an agency of the federal government, Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).