Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Franklin BSP Realty Trust shares fell to a new 52-week low of $6.03, below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with a market capitalization of approximately $499.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11, while individual targets range from $10 to $12.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.25, slightly ahead of estimates, and paid a $0.20 quarterly dividend. The $0.80 annualized dividend implies a 13.3% yield, but the payout ratio is elevated at 181.82%.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $6.03 and last traded at $6.0550, with a volume of 654,409 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JonesTrading reissued a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin BSP Realty Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.15. The company has a current ratio of 96.80, a quick ratio of 96.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The stock has a market cap of $499.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.97.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 5.82%. The firm had revenue of $66.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.98 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 4.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,387 shares of the company's stock worth $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 27,746 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 556,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 63,752 shares in the last quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 32.1% in the first quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC now owns 398,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,380,000 after buying an additional 96,723 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 396,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,365,000 after buying an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 188,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,604,000 after buying an additional 73,955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 primarily on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires and manages a portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on senior mortgage loans secured by properties such as multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.

In addition to senior mortgage loans, Franklin BSP Realty Trust may invest in subordinate and mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate-related investments.

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