Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Coverage Initiated at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• Analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Blackstone, setting an "outperform" rating and a price target of $190.00, indicating a potential upside of approximately 14% from the current price.
• Blackstone's recent quarterly earnings beat estimates, reporting $1.21 EPS against a consensus of $1.10, with revenues of $3.07 billion that marked a 32.7% year-over-year increase.
• Investment research shows a consensus of 10 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings for Blackstone's stock, with an average price target of $174.65.

Investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the asset manager's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.96% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.65.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $166.72 on Friday. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $174.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.61. The firm has a market cap of $122.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 2,538,071 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.61 per share, for a total transaction of $64,999,998.31. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,506,209 shares in the company, valued at $192,234,012.49. This trade represents a 51.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 3,727,877 shares of company stock valued at $95,046,625 and sold 16,984,634 shares valued at $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $183,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 126.5% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 573 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 17.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 2,225 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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