Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the October 15th total of 1,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 306,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franklin BSP Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $6,012,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 28.7% in 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,313,000 after purchasing an additional 166,120 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $13,403,000 after buying an additional 117,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.6% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James increased their price target on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:FBRT traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $12.86. 282,552 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 332,363. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. Franklin BSP Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $11.99 and a 1 year high of $14.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.99. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.41.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.04%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 173.17%.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Company Profile

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).