Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Among nine brokerages, four rate BXMT a buy, three a hold and two a sell. The average 12-month price target is $19.20, compared with shares opening at $13.15.
• Recent results fell short of expectations: Blackstone Mortgage Trust reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, missing the $0.41 consensus estimate, although revenue of $158.06 million slightly exceeded forecasts.
• The REIT maintained a high dividend: BXMT declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equivalent to $1.88 annually and a stated yield of 14.3%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

BXMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $13.15 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $14.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $13.10 and a 52-week high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is presently 2,088.89%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, President Fernando Pena sold 1,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 72,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Henry Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 218,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,133,619.82. The trade was a 4.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,059 shares of company stock valued at $97,143. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $18,109,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 758.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 185,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,546,000 after purchasing an additional 163,577 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,297,062 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,839,000 after purchasing an additional 233,357 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 238,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shikiar Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 96.4% in the 1st quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 85,750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates and holds senior mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate. Its lending activities primarily focus on transitional and institutional-quality properties, including office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and other commercial assets.

The company's portfolio is concentrated in major real estate markets in the United States, Europe and Australia. Its loans are generally floating-rate and are designed to provide financing for acquisitions, refinancings, renovations, development and other commercial real estate activities.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Blackstone.

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