Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 28,436 Shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 456,423 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,436 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $6,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 374.2% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 11,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

FBRT stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 36,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,792. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.98. The company has a quick ratio of 88.39, a current ratio of 88.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.99 and a 1 year high of $14.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.44.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (NYSE:FBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). Franklin BSP Realty Trust had a net margin of 53.82% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm had revenue of $53.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.37%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 107.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research cut their target price on Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James raised Franklin BSP Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

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).