Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) by 66.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,124 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 229,874 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.30% of Broadstone Net Lease worth $10,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadstone Net Lease by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,844,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,827,000 after acquiring an additional 62,515 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Broadstone Net Lease by 131.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 180,456 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Broadstone Net Lease by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 270,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Broadstone Net Lease during the 3rd quarter worth $348,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Broadstone Net Lease in the third quarter valued at $948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Broadstone Net Lease Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of BNL stock opened at $16.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.34. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.10. Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.20 and a 12-month high of $19.15.

Broadstone Net Lease (NYSE:BNL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.15). Broadstone Net Lease had a return on equity of 4.47% and a net margin of 33.56%. The business had revenue of $108.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadstone Net Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Broadstone Net Lease’s dividend payout ratio is currently 152.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Broadstone Net Lease from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JMP Securities upgraded Broadstone Net Lease from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group started coverage on Broadstone Net Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Broadstone Net Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.60.

Broadstone Net Lease Company Profile

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc (the Corporation) is a Maryland corporation formed on October 18, 2007, that elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2008. Broadstone Net Lease, LLC (the Corporation’s operating company, or the OP), is the entity through which the Corporation conducts its business and owns (either directly or through subsidiaries) all of the Corporation’s properties.