Buford Ortale Buys 2,000 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) Stock

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Director Buford Ortale bought 2,000 shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.88 per share, with a total value of $17,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 49,851 shares in the company, valued at $442,676.88. This trade represents a 4.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBRT opened at $9.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $744.69 million, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 70.78, a quick ratio of 67.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.42 and a 52 week high of $13.58.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 221.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,001,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,394,000 after acquiring an additional 12,252 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 72.2% in the fourth 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. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 2.4% in the third quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,442,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,668,000 after acquiring an additional 34,102 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,256,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,599,000 after acquiring an additional 59,424 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,042,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,318,000 after acquiring an additional 70,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FBRT. JonesTrading decreased their price target on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

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.