Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $6.61 and last traded at $6.7250, with a volume of 1886426 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin BSP Realty Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Up 1.5%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $538.51 million, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 96.80 and a quick ratio of 96.80.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $66.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.98 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 5.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 181.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $103,000. Concorde Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $564,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 55,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 25,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE: FBRT) is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires and manages a portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on floating-rate mortgage loans secured by institutional-quality properties.

Its investment activities may include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine loans, bridge loans, preferred equity investments and other commercial real estate-related credit investments.