Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Stock Bumped Down to Strong Sell by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FBRT. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE FBRT opened at $6.17 on Wednesday. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $5.90 and a 1 year high of $10.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.38. The firm has a market cap of $511.94 million, a P/E ratio of -77.05 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.27). Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $22.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 181.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $1,117,000. Q Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 96,723 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 73,955 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $564,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

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.