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

Key Points

• Analysts rate BXMT “Hold” on average: Seven firms cover the stock, with four buys, two holds and one sell; the average 12-month price target is $19.20, though several brokerages recently lowered their targets.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, missing the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue of $158.06 million slightly exceeded expectations. Shares opened at $14.57, near their 12-month low.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equivalent to a 12.9% annualized yield; insiders have sold shares worth about $95,000 over the past 90 days.

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BXMT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BXMT opened at $14.57 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $14.11 and a 12-month high of $20.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 161.94 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 74,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 259.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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