Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Shares Down 5.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Franklin BSP Realty Trust shares fell 5.7% to about $6.89 in Friday trading, with volume 64% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $11, while recent ratings ranged from Buy to Neutral.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and an 11.5% yield; however, its payout ratio is high at 181.82%.

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) fell 5.7% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $6.99 and last traded at $6.8850. 452,039 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 1,260,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on FBRT. JonesTrading reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $576.71 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 96.80, a current ratio of 96.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $7.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.39.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $66.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.98 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 5.82%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,054 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 96.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 16,553 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at $47,000. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

Franklin BSP Realty Trust NYSE: FBRT is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires and manages a portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on floating-rate mortgage loans secured by institutional-quality properties.

Its investment activities may include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine loans, bridge loans, preferred equity investments and other commercial real estate-related credit investments.

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