LPL Financial LLC Purchases 2,881 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,435 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FBRT. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 19,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE FBRT opened at $11.35 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.76. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.50 and a 12-month high of $14.12. The firm has a market cap of $948.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 84.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 45.56%. The business had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.28 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.52%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.08%.

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).