Analysts Set Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Target Price at $15.50

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities 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 analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FBRT. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. B. Riley raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock opened at $13.31 on Tuesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $11.96 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.89 and its 200 day moving average is $12.96.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.56% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.28 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.67%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 51,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 19,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 48,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. 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).