Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Shares Bought by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 73.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,644 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,716 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.10% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $133,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Mariner LLC grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 581,963 shares of the company's stock worth $7,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 144,285 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 7,751 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company's stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FBRT stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.54. The stock had a trading volume of 58,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,213. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.50 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 84.89 and a quick ratio of 90.45. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.73. The firm has a market cap of $964.75 million, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.14.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.28 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. B. Riley upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin BSP Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

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).