Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Seven analysts give Blackstone Mortgage Trust an average recommendation of “Hold” (four hold, three buy) with a 12‑month average price target of $21.38.
• Dividend yield and payout: The company recently paid a $0.47 quarterly dividend ($1.88 annualized) for a 9.4% yield, while the dividend payout ratio is an elevated 289.23%.
• Shares opened at $20.08 with 50‑/200‑day moving averages around $19.28/19.20, a market cap of $3.39 billion and a PE of 30.90; the company's president sold 1,666 shares and insiders own about 1.02% while institutional investors own 64.15%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.3750.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $20.08 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.28 and a 200-day moving average of $19.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 1.00. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.4%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 289.23%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,453,136.96. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth about $2,991,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 578,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,649,000 after acquiring an additional 155,421 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.4% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,696,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,229,000 after acquiring an additional 101,701 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 865,464 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,933,000 after buying an additional 71,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2,836.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 214,626 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,106,000 after buying an additional 207,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc NYSE: BXMT is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm's core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.

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