Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Should You Sell?

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)’s share price dropped 5.7% on Friday. The company traded as low as $6.99 and last traded at $6.8850. Approximately 452,039 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,260,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JonesTrading reissued 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. Finally, BTIG Research lowered Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

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

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $66.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.98 million. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 181.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 27,746 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 556,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,723,000 after buying an additional 63,752 shares during the period. Q Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 32.1% during the 1st 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. lifted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 1st 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 boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors 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 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.