Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $5.90 and last traded at $5.9450, with a volume of 1,006,164 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group set a $10.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $493.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 96.80 and a current ratio of 96.80.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 20.49%. The company had revenue of $66.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.98 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 4.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after buying an additional 27,746 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 556,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 63,752 shares during the last quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 32.1% during the first quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC now owns 398,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 96,723 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 396,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 188,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 73,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

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.