Citizens Jmp Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $190.00

Key Points

• Citizens Jmp cut its price target on Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to $190 from $195 while keeping a market outperform rating, a target that implies roughly a 47.63% upside from the prior close.
• Analysts remain split — targets range from $118 (Goldman Sachs) to $176 (RBC) and $142 (JPMorgan) — but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $153.77 versus BX's recent open near $128.70.
• Blackstone recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.75 vs. $1.54; revenue $4.36B vs. $3.69B), with revenue up about 41% year-over-year and analysts forecasting roughly 6.16 EPS for the fiscal year.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Citizens Jmp from $195.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market outperform" rating on the asset manager's stock. Citizens Jmp's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 47.63% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Blackstone from $179.00 to $176.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Blackstone from $158.00 to $118.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.77.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $128.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $95.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $116.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.83. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 6.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 2,868,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew 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 worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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