Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• BXMT fell to a new 52-week low of $12.23, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $14.24 and $16.96, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $19.20 average price target, while some firms recently downgraded the stock or lowered targets.
• The REIT missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.31 per share versus $0.41 forecast, while maintaining a $0.47 quarterly dividend that yields about 15.1%; its reported payout ratio is an exceptionally high 2,088.89%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $12.23 and last traded at $12.4140, with a volume of 2232435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BXMT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.96.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 218,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,133,619.82. This trade represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $537,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.