Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Stock Price

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.50 to $20.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BXMT. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $19.90. 749,372 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,604,487. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $16.51 and a 1 year high of $21.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.26 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day moving average of $19.10.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.45%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -408.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.90 per share, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 182,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,457,679.40. This trade represents a 5.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $132,590.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 236,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,164.82. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,248 shares of company stock worth $177,028 in the last three months. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $320,316,000 after buying an additional 63,338 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $149,752,000 after buying an additional 652,537 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,315,000 after buying an additional 801,083 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,598,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,979,000 after buying an additional 63,953 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $35,662,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.