Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the November 15th total of 1,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 316,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FBRT. Raymond James upped their target price on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Franklin BSP Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 22.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 24,633 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,939,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,335,000 after acquiring an additional 9,428 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $189,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,359,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,059,000 after acquiring an additional 116,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock opened at $13.20 on Tuesday. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $11.99 and a fifty-two week high of $14.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a current ratio of 90.45.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 173.17%.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company 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).