Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,268 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,388 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth $174,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $189,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 19,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

FBRT stock opened at $13.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.37. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.96 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 84.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.95.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.56% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $55.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 171.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBRT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

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).