Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $11.83 and last traded at $11.84, with a volume of 437674 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Down 4.2 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.93. 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 has a market cap of $980.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% during 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 last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $133,000. 59.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).