Short Interest in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Expands By 7.0%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Four 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBRT. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 55.6% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,820,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,055,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,780,000 after purchasing an additional 235,548 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,026,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after purchasing an additional 117,745 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,359,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,059,000 after buying an additional 116,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 62.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 47,650 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of FBRT stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.65. 419,196 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,209. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.98. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $11.96 and a fifty-two week high of $14.11. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.17%.

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).