Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,915 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,915 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at $168,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,026,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after purchasing an additional 117,745 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares during the period. 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 worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 47,650 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

FBRT opened at $11.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.02 and its 200 day moving average is $12.93. The company has a current ratio of 84.89, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The company 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.81 and a 12-month high of $14.12.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.28 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 payout ratio is 171.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on FBRT shares. B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

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).