Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FBRT shares. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at $168,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,026,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 117,745 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 10.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 47,650 shares in the last quarter. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FBRT stock opened at $11.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a current ratio of 84.89. The firm has a market cap of $980.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.37. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $11.81 and a 52 week high of $14.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.93.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 45.56%. The business had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.28 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

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).