Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Shares Bought by Gratia Capital LLC

Gratia Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 110.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 622,622 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 326,122 shares during the quarter. Franklin BSP Realty Trust accounts for about 7.7% of Gratia Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gratia Capital LLC owned 0.76% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $7,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $2,475,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,162,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,584,000 after buying an additional 136,687 shares in the last quarter. Condor Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 302,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,789,000 after buying an additional 111,813 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 725,963 shares of the company's stock worth $9,104,000 after buying an additional 104,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,157,111 shares of the company's stock worth $14,510,000 after buying an additional 101,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.87% of the company's stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of FBRT stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.47. The company had a trading volume of 191,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,372. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.50 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 84.89 and a quick ratio of 90.45. The firm has a market cap of $958.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.34 and a 200 day moving average of $12.68.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 12.39%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 208.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FBRT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jones Trading cut 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 note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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).