Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FBRT. Weiss Ratings lowered Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.75.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

FBRT stock opened at $6.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.25. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $5.90 and a 12-month high of $10.82. The company has a quick ratio of 83.00, a current ratio of 83.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The firm has a market cap of $486.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 1.10.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.27). Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The business had revenue of $22.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.54 million. On average, analysts expect that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.5%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,000.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Franklin BSP Realty Trust news, CEO Richard J. Byrne purchased 162,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $998,364.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 162,600 shares in the company, valued at $998,364. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 164,664 shares of company stock valued at $1,024,104 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

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

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 diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on loans secured by properties in the United States.

Its investment activities primarily include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and other debt-related instruments. The portfolio is designed to provide financing to owners and operators of commercial properties across sectors such as multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and other specialty real estate.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust was formerly known as Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust and operates under the Franklin BSP platform.