Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust to “strong sell” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with an average price target of $19.20.
• BXMT shares opened at $14.29, down 2.4%, near their 52-week low of $13.73. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.31 missed analysts’ $0.41 estimate, despite revenue slightly exceeding expectations.
• Insider activity was mixed: a director purchased 10,000 shares, while insiders sold 5,420 shares worth $95,233 over the past three months. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. 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, July 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $13.73 and a 1 year high of $20.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $16.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.30. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.78, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,385.93. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 218,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, 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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northside Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

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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