Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $146.00 Price Target at Argus

Key Points

• Argus cut its price target on Blackstone from $163 to $146 but maintained a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 20.2% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of about $150.95; recent revisions include UBS lowering its target to $137 (neutral) and Barclays to $124, while Morgan Stanley and Evercore remain more bullish.
• Blackstone beat Q1 expectations with EPS $1.36 vs $1.34 estimated and revenue of $3.62B (up 10% YoY), showing strong margins and supporting a sell‑side forecast of roughly 6.07 FY EPS.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Argus from $163.00 to $146.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the asset manager's stock. Argus' price target points to a potential upside of 20.18% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.95.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE BX opened at $121.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $90.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.74. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $116.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.71. Blackstone has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

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