Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Stock Rating Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. BTIG Research lowered shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

FBRT stock opened at $6.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $511.94 million, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.38. The company has a current ratio of 96.80, a quick ratio of 96.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $5.90 and a 12-month high of $10.82.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $22.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.54 million. Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 4.18%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Franklin BSP Realty Trust will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at $1,117,000. Q Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC now owns 398,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 96,723 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 188,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 73,955 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $564,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 556,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 63,752 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Franklin BSP Realty Trust News

Here are the key news stories impacting Franklin BSP Realty Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a plan to repurchase up to $60 million of FBRT shares at $8.14 per share, a premium to the current trading level, which could support the stock and reduce shares outstanding. FBRT outlines focus on resolving legacy equity and repurchasing shares
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s strategy includes asset sales and addressing approximately $300 million of legacy equity, efforts that could improve the balance sheet, simplify the capital structure and potentially narrow the valuation discount. FBRT Q3 deep dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s third-quarter earnings call focused on portfolio positioning, asset monetization and navigating broader commercial real-estate market headwinds. The success of these initiatives will depend on execution and the prices achieved in future transactions. FBRT Q3 2026 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FBRT reported a third-quarter loss of $0.02 per share, well below the roughly $0.25–$0.26 analyst consensus and down from $0.22 per share a year earlier. Franklin BSP reports Q3 loss
• Negative Sentiment: Reported revenue of $22.11 million was substantially below the approximately $72.54 million consensus cited in market coverage, adding to concerns about earnings quality and near-term operating performance. FBRT reports third-quarter earnings results

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE: FBRT) is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt investments, with an emphasis on loans secured by properties in the United States.

Its investment activities primarily include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and other debt-related instruments. The portfolio is designed to provide financing to owners and operators of commercial properties across sectors such as multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and other specialty real estate.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust was formerly known as Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust and operates under the Franklin BSP platform.