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

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 357,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBRT. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $168,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $174,000. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.70. 62,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 369,038. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.96. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $11.96 and a 1-year high of $14.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FBRT. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

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).