Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBRT shares. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on 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. Jones Trading reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1,683.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 4,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.87% of the company's stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

FBRT traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 165,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,413. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 84.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $905.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.86. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $10.55 and a 12 month high of $14.12.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.28 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.11%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio 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).