Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $137.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager's stock.

BX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.29.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $161.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,076,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,300,314. The company's 50-day moving average price is $143.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $118.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.74, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone

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.