Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. $FBRT Shares Acquired by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 51.6% in the first quarter, owning 280,351 shares valued at approximately $3.57 million.
• Franklin BSP Realty Trust recently announced a dividend of $0.355 per share, representing an annualized yield of 12.3%, despite having a high payout ratio of 144.90%.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $14.88 for Franklin BSP Realty Trust, with two analysts giving it a Strong Buy rating and four a Buy rating.

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 51.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,351 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 95,450 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $3,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FBRT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,542,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,345,488 shares of the company's stock worth $17,142,000 after purchasing an additional 188,377 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 362,451 shares of the company's stock worth $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 165,981 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 958,564 shares of the company's stock worth $12,020,000 after purchasing an additional 142,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 714,485 shares of the company's stock worth $9,103,000 after purchasing an additional 139,417 shares in the last quarter. 59.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jones Trading decreased their target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.88.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

FBRT traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 359,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,320. The company has a quick ratio of 81.24, a current ratio of 81.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.53. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.79 and a 1 year high of $13.74. The company has a market cap of $957.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.2%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.90%.

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).