Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE FBRT opened at $12.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.39. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $11.99 and a 52-week high of $14.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.99.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,820,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,055,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,780,000 after buying an additional 235,548 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,026,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after buying an additional 117,745 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,359,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,059,000 after acquiring an additional 116,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 47,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).