Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.55 and last traded at $11.58, with a volume of 1067813 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 84.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.88 and its 200-day moving average is $12.86. The company has a market cap of $968.52 million, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.14.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last announced 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 net margin of 45.56% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1,683.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 4,377 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

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).