Strong Tower Advisory Services Purchases 188,377 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,345,488 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 188,377 shares during the quarter. Franklin BSP Realty Trust comprises approximately 4.1% of Strong Tower Advisory Services' investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Strong Tower Advisory Services owned 1.64% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $17,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FBRT. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 51,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 48,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 12,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE FBRT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.01. 57,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,420. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 84.89 and a quick ratio of 90.45. 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 market cap of $905.19 million, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.37.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 208.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jones Trading reduced their price target on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $15.30.

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).