Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

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

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FBRT opened at $12.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.99. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $11.99 and a 12-month high of $14.11.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 173.17%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares in the last quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Concorde Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $187,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 91.8% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 14,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 16.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).