Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Receives $15.50 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

FBRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

FBRT opened at $12.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.99. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $11.99 and a 1 year high of $14.11. The stock has a market cap of $988.64 million, a P/E ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 90.45 and a quick ratio of 90.45.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.75%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 173.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBRT. State Street Corp boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,359,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,059,000 after buying an additional 116,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,939,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,335,000 after purchasing an additional 9,428 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake 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 worth $13,780,000 after purchasing an additional 235,548 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,026,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after purchasing an additional 117,745 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,820,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

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).