Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Stake Raised by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 690,202 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 50,332 shares during the quarter. Franklin BSP Realty Trust accounts for about 3.7% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Strong Tower Advisory Services owned about 0.84% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $9,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 11,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $162,000. Sollinda Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBRT remained flat at $12.80 during trading hours on Tuesday. 9,239 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,592. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.99 and a 52 week high of $14.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.75 and its 200 day moving average is $13.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 88.39, a current ratio of 88.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $53.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.58%.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

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).