Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), under the symbol "FBRT." On February 7, 2024, the last sales price for our common stock on the NYSE was $12.26 per share.
Holders
As of February 7, 2024, we had 3,104 registered holders of our common stock. The 3,104 holders of record include Cede & Co., which holds shares as nominee for The Depository Trust Company, which itself holds shares on behalf of the beneficial owners of our common stock. Such information was obtained through our registrar and transfer agent.
Dividends
The Company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. As a REIT, if the Company meets certain organizational and operational requirements and distributes at least 90% of its' "REIT taxable income" (determined before the deduction of dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) to the stockholders in a year, the Company will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent of the income that we distribute. Even if the Company qualifies for taxation as a REIT, the Company may be subject to certain state and local taxes on its' income and property and U.S. federal income and excise taxes on any undistributed income. Dividends are declared and paid at the discretion of our board of directors and depend on cash available for distribution, financial condition, our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT, and such other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. See Item 1A. "Risk Factors," and Item 7. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for information regarding the sources of funds used for dividends and for a discussion of factors, if any, which may adversely affect our ability to pay dividends.
Stock Performance Graph
Our common stock began trading on the NYSE under the symbol “FBRT” as of October 19, 2021. The following graph is a comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return on shares of our common stock, the Standard & Poor's 1500 (the "S&P 1500"), and the FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITS Index (the "FTSE Mortgage REIT Index"), a published industry index, from October 19, 2021 to December 31, 2023. In prior years, the Company compared its stockholder return to the Bloomberg REIT Mortgage Index (the "Bloomberg Mortgage Index"), a published industry index , but has decided to discontinue the use of the Bloomberg Mortgage Index as a comparison tool as Bloomberg has announced that the Bloomberg Mortgage Index should no longer be used for financial benchmarking purposes. The FTSE Mortgage REIT Index is comprised of companies that are similar to us in size with large market capitalizations and is historically comparable to the Bloomberg Mortgage Index. The graph assumes that $100 was invested on October 19, 2021 in our common stock, the S&P 1500 and the FTSE Mortgage REIT Index and that all dividends were reinvested without the payment of any commissions. The graph also includes a comparison against the Bloomberg Mortgage Index for reference. There can be no assurance that the performance of our shares will continue in line with the same or similar trends depicted in the graph below.
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Period Ending
Index 10/19/2021 12/31/2021 12/31/2022 12/31/2023
FBRT $ 100.00 $ 89.91 $ 85.93 $ 100.10
FTSE Mortgage REIT Index $ 100.00 $ 94.70 $ 69.74 $ 80.34
S&P 1500 $ 100.00 $ 105.52 $ 85.11 $ 108.79
Bloomberg Mortgage Index $ 100.00 $ 94.80 $ 71.69 $ 82.07
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
The Company’s board of directors has authorized a $65 million share repurchase program that permits share repurchases at prices below the most recently reported book value per share as determined in accordance with GAAP. Purchases made under the Company’s program may be made through open market, block, and privately negotiated transactions, including Rule 10b5-1 plans, as permitted by securities laws and other legal requirements. The timing, manner, price and amount of any purchases by the Company are determined by the Company in its reasonable business judgment and consistent with the exercise of its legal duties and are subject to economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The Company's share repurchase program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock. The Company’s share repurchase program has been extended until at least December 31, 2024, or until the capital committed to the repurchase program has been exhausted, whichever is sooner. Repurchases under the share repurchase program may be suspended from time to time at the Company’s discretion without prior notice.
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The following table sets forth purchases of the Company's common stock under the share repurchase program for the three months ended December 31, 2023 (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):
Total number of shares purchased Average price paid per share (1)
Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs (2)
Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs (2)
October 1, 2023 - October 31, 2023 251,397 $ 12.46 251,397 36,128
November 1, 2023 - November 30, 2023 16,571 12.69 16,571 35,917
December 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023 — — — 35,917
Total 267,968 $ 12.47 267,968 $ 35,917
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(1) The average price paid per share represents the average purchase price per share, inclusive of any broker’s fees or commissions.
(2) All of the purchases listed in the table above were made in the open market under the Company's share purchase program announced on July 26, 2021, including under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted by the Company.
Subsequent to December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased 56,323 shares of common stock at a weighted average cost of $12.52 per share. As of February 7, 2024, $35.2 million remains available under the Company’s share repurchase program.
The information required by Item 5 with respect to securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans is incorporated herein by reference to Part III, Item 12 of this Form 10-K.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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