Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Acquires 33,716 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 73.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,644 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,716 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.10% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $133,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 581,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,298,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 144,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 5,813 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Up 2.7 %

FBRT stock opened at $11.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.64 and a 200 day moving average of $12.76. The firm has a market cap of $948.95 million, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.14. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 84.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 45.56%. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.52%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

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).