Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) fell to a new 52-week low after JPMorgan cut its price target from $20 to $19, though the firm kept an overweight rating. The stock traded as low as $16.70 on heavy volume.
• Other analysts have also recently lowered expectations or turned more cautious, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research. Overall, BXMT still carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $20.75.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 11.2%. However, the payout ratio is very high at 308.2%, which may raise sustainability concerns.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $19.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Blackstone Mortgage Trust traded as low as $16.70 and last traded at $16.7450, with a volume of 688168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.08.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.75.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233. Insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in 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% during 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 worth $11,405,000 after buying an additional 37,838 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,142,000 after buying an additional 138,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth about $226,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.81.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

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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