Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $7.33 and last traded at $7.3650, with a volume of 136922 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBRT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 96.80, a current ratio of 96.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The stock has a market cap of $581.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.38.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $66.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.98 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 5.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.4%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 181.82%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FBRT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after acquiring an additional 27,746 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC now owns 398,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 96,723 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 396,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 188,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 73,955 shares in the last quarter. 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 portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on floating-rate mortgage loans secured by institutional-quality properties.

Its investment activities may include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine loans, bridge loans, preferred equity investments and other commercial real estate-related credit investments.