Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Blackstone reported earnings of $1.21 per share, surpassing expectations by $0.11, with a significant quarterly revenue of $3.07 billion, up 32.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.03 per share, reflecting a 10.8% boost from the previous dividend, with a current yield of 2.32%.
• Analyst price targets have been raised, with Evercore ISI setting a new target of $197, indicating a positive outlook on Blackstone's stock performance.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $176.30. 1,558,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,284,732. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.38 and a 200 day moving average of $150.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.64 billion, a PE ratio of 47.44, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, 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. Insiders bought 2,849,769 shares of company stock valued at $54,932,307 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Blackstone stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Saturday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

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.