Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Director Acquires 10,000 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 BXMT shares at an average price of $11.43, investing $114,300 and increasing his stake by 4.47% to 233,490 shares.
• BXMT reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating the $0.24 consensus estimate, but revenue of $141.9 million fell short of forecasts. The company cut its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.30 per share, a 10.5% indicated yield.
• The stock traded at $11.44, near its one-year low of $10.11; analysts’ average rating was “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $17.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) Director Henry Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 233,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,668,790.70. This represents a 4.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,348,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,371. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.59. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.11 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $141.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $148.60 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 9.17% and a negative net margin of 48.18%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.5%. This is a negative change from Blackstone Mortgage Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -84.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BXMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 233,357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,109,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 770,901 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,763,000 after acquiring an additional 19,423 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 85.1% in the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 596,835 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,834,000 after acquiring an additional 274,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.6% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 483,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that originates and manages senior loans secured by commercial properties. The company primarily provides floating-rate mortgage financing to owners and sponsors of institutional-quality real estate, earning income from interest and other fees associated with its lending activities.

Its loan portfolio has historically included properties across sectors such as office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and life sciences.

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