Insider Buying: Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Director Buys 10,000 Shares of Stock

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Director Buford Ortale bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,900 shares in the company, valued at $318,000. The trade was a 169.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:FBRT opened at $8.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.75 and a 200-day moving average of $9.39. The firm has a market cap of $630.69 million, a P/E ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.92. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.12 and a twelve month high of $11.84. The company has a current ratio of 90.06, a quick ratio of 90.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.13). Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 24.26%.The company had revenue of $74.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.09 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 156.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBRT. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,829,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,349,000 after buying an additional 766,875 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,256,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,599,000 after buying an additional 59,424 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,042,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,318,000 after buying an additional 70,645 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 873,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,481,000 after buying an additional 168,993 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Point Credit Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $8,381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: FBRT) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust sponsored by an affiliate of Franklin Square Capital Partners. The company focuses on acquiring, owning and managing single-tenant net leased commercial properties across the United States. Its portfolio spans retail, office, industrial and other property types, with leases structured to shift most property‐level responsibilities—such as maintenance, property taxes and insurance—to the tenants.

By concentrating on net lease investments, Franklin BSP Realty Trust aims to generate stable and predictable rental income streams.