Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Share Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BXMT shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $17.58, trading as low as $13.86 and last changing hands near $13.89. The stock was down 2.2%, with its 50-day moving average at $15.35.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with a $19.20 average price target. Recent actions included a downgrade to “Strong Sell,” multiple “Market Perform” ratings, and one “Buy” rating with a $21 target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, below the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue slightly exceeded expectations. BXMT continues to offer a $0.47 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 13.5% annualized yield, though its reported payout ratio is extremely high.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $17.58 and traded as low as $13.86. Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares last traded at $13.8850, with a volume of 1,588,857 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.28, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.35 and a 200-day moving average of $17.58.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is presently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Fernando Pena sold 1,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the president directly owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,385.93. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 218,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Northside Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

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.

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