Insider Buying: Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Director Buys 1,046 Shares of Company Stock

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Director Buford Ortale purchased 1,046 shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.25 per share, for a total transaction of $18,043.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $55,079.25. This represents a 48.72% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE:FBRT traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,403. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.09 million, a PE ratio of -80.45 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 83.00 and a quick ratio of 83.00. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.90 and a 12 month high of $10.82.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.27). Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.54 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.4%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -1,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 634,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,386,000 after acquiring an additional 27,746 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 556,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 63,752 shares in the last quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 96,723 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 1.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 396,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 64.3% in the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on FBRT shares. JonesTrading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, September 11th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.75.

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.