Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FBRT. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley upgraded Franklin BSP Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franklin BSP Realty Trust has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE FBRT traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 107,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,920. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.96. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $11.96 and a 12-month high of $14.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.39.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.19%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 173.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 41,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 8,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $345,000. Institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

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).