Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Blackstone reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.23, accompanied by revenue of $3.30 billion, surpassing estimates of $3.14 billion.
• The company's stock fell 4.6% during trading hours following the earnings announcement, reaching a price of $154.27.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Blackstone, with Morgan Stanley raising its target from $200 to $215, while others, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, lowered their targets.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.29, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The business's revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.6%

Blackstone stock traded down $7.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.27. 1,013,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,096,965. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $170.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.77. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Blackstone from $181.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Blackstone from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 2,538,071 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.61 per share, for a total transaction of $64,999,998.31. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,506,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $192,234,012.49. This represents a 51.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.46, for a total value of $3,686,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 453,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,814,720.56. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 2,538,345 shares of company stock worth $65,046,628 and sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. FFT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hayek Kallen Investment Management bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $277,000. Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,854 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 20.5% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

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