Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares hit a new 52-week low of $13.72, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, amid continued stock-price weakness.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $19.20, while recent firms issued “Sell” and “Strong Sell” downgrades alongside a $21 “Buy” target from UBS.
• The REIT missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.31 per share versus $0.41 expected, while maintaining a $0.47 quarterly dividend that equates to an approximately 13.8% yield.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.72 and last traded at $13.72, with a volume of 487641 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.90. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.91.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. Analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 2,088.89%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 218,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,405,000 after buying an additional 37,838 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,142,000 after buying an additional 138,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at $226,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc NYSE: BXMT is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm's core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source