Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Raised to "Overweight" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) from "neutral" to Overweight, setting a $21.00 price target that implies roughly a 4.4% upside.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but positive overall — one Strong Buy, three Buy and three Hold — giving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $21.38.
• Insider and institutional ownership: President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares at $18.88 (insiders own 1.02%), while institutional investors hold about 64.15% of the stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $21.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 4.43% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

NYSE BXMT opened at $20.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94 and a beta of 1.00. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $20.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.23 and a 200-day moving average of $19.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of 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 period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 37,838 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the 1st 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 period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,142,000 after acquiring an additional 138,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $226,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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