Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

BXMT has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $14.53 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $14.11 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 161.49 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.32 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 74,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,303,466.12. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st 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 last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,838 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,142,000 after purchasing an additional 138,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth $226,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone Mortgage Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loan growth and portfolio performance were described as encouraging, while management is targeting a reduction of more than 40% in office and pre-2023 loan exposure by year-end. BXMT also plans to expand into the approximately $200 billion homebuilder-finance market, which could improve portfolio diversification over time. Blackstone Mortgage Trust exposure reduction and homebuilder finance article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $18 from $19 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. The target cut appears to reflect a more cautious valuation rather than a negative fundamental view. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed its “market perform” rating but reduced its price target sharply to $16 from $20. The new target still indicates potential upside, but the reduction signals less confidence in near-term appreciation. Finviz analyst rating report
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were mixed. BXMT reported revenue of $158.1 million, slightly above the $157.3 million consensus, but EPS was reported at $0.31 versus expectations of $0.38. Another earnings measure cited by Zacks showed $0.48 per share, highlighting differences between reporting metrics; nevertheless, realized gains and losses weighed on the quarter’s headline results. Blackstone Mortgage Trust earnings impact article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings shortfall prompted a broader reassessment of BXMT, with commentary characterizing the quarter as a reason for a downgrade despite strong loan growth and performance. Continued office-market exposure and realized losses remain key investor concerns. Blackstone Mortgage Trust downgrade analysis

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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