Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

FBRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. 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. JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Friday, September 11th. UBS Group set a $10.00 price objective on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of FBRT stock opened at $6.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 96.80 and a quick ratio of 96.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.17. The company has a market cap of $508.62 million, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.97. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $6.03 and a 1 year high of $10.88.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $66.47 million for 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%. Research analysts predict that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 181.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBRT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 15.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Concorde Asset Management LLC grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 96.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.6% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 16,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 59.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE: FBRT) is a real estate investment trust focused primarily on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires and manages a portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on senior mortgage loans secured by properties such as multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.

In addition to senior mortgage loans, Franklin BSP Realty Trust may invest in subordinate and mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate-related investments.