Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Short Interest Up 60.8% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 60.8% in March to 12,576,160 shares, equal to 7.5% of the stock and a days-to-cover of about 6.8 based on average volume.
• The stock offers a 9.5% dividend yield after a $0.47 quarterly payout, but the dividend payout ratio is extremely high at 289.23%, signaling sustainability risk.
• Analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $21.13, while the shares recently traded near $19.77 and institutional investors own roughly 64.15% of the company.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,576,160 shares, a growth of 60.8% from the March 15th total of 7,821,043 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,861,939 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the president directly owned 76,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,136.96. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BXMT traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 976,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,798. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.11.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 289.23%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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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