Enstar Group LTD Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Enstar Group opened a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter, buying 164,428 shares worth about $25.3 million. The stake now represents roughly 9.8% of Enstar’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment on Blackstone remains fairly constructive, with 13 Buy ratings and 12 Hold ratings. MarketBeat’s consensus view is a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $150.86.
• Blackstone reported Q1 EPS of $1.36, slightly beating estimates, while revenue came in just below expectations at $3.43 billion. The company also paid a $1.16 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.8%.

Enstar Group LTD bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 164,428 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $25,345,000. Blackstone makes up approximately 9.8% of Enstar Group LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BX. Argus lowered their price target on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $122.63 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $119.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 118.67%.

About Blackstone

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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