LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Invests $133,000 in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FBRT. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,359,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,059,000 after purchasing an additional 116,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,939,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,335,000 after buying an additional 9,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,162,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,584,000 after acquiring an additional 136,687 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,157,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,510,000 after acquiring an additional 101,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,137,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,260,000 after acquiring an additional 75,240 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock opened at $11.16 on Wednesday. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.50 and a 52 week high of $14.12. The company has a current ratio of 84.89, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market cap of $932.97 million, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.79.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.56% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $55.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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).