Gabelli Funds LLC Acquires 45,901 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 54.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 130,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,901 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 374.2% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $136,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $162,000. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $176,000. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.85. The stock had a trading volume of 223,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,290. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.44. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.99 and a fifty-two week high of $14.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 88.39 and a current ratio of 88.39.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $53.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.64 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 53.82% and a return on equity of 14.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FBRT shares. Raymond James raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Profile

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).