Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from “sell” to “hold.” Across analysts, the consensus is also “hold,” with an average price target of $17.
• BXMT reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating the $0.24 consensus, while revenue of $141.9 million fell short of estimates of $148.6 million.
• CEO Timothy Johnson bought 90,000 shares for about $1.04 million, and a director purchased 10,000 shares. The stock opened at $11.15, near its one-year low of $10.11.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $11.15 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $10.11 and a 1-year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.14. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 9.17% and a negative net margin of 48.18%. The company had revenue of $141.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Timothy Johnson acquired 90,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.50 per share, with a total value of $1,035,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 617,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,105,850. This represents a 17.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 233,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,668,790.70. The trade was a 4.47% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $18,109,000. Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 85.1% in the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 596,835 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,834,000 after purchasing an additional 274,361 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 758.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 185,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,546,000 after buying an additional 163,577 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,297,062 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,839,000 after buying an additional 233,357 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 75.7% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 238,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,575,000 after buying an additional 102,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that originates and manages senior loans secured by commercial properties. The company primarily provides floating-rate mortgage financing to owners and sponsors of institutional-quality real estate, earning income from interest and other fees associated with its lending activities.

Its loan portfolio has historically included properties across sectors such as office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and life sciences.

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