Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Blackstone from $161 to $169 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 34% upside from the prior close.
• Blackstone’s latest quarterly results were better than expected, with EPS of $1.52 and revenue of $5.04 billion, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year and assets under management hit a record $1.35 trillion.
• The company also boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share from $1.16, underscoring confidence in cash generation and supporting the stock’s income appeal.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $161.00 to $169.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the asset manager's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 34.30% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on BX. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.14.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX traded up $1.33 on Friday, reaching $125.83. The stock had a trading volume of 370,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,701,198. The company has a market capitalization of $93.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.81.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone posted Q2 earnings of $1.52 per share on $5.04 billion of revenue, well above Wall Street estimates, while revenue jumped 35.9% year over year and AUM hit a record $1.35 trillion. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI-related investments are starting to pay off across private equity, private credit, and real estate, with infrastructure holdings and new inflows helping offset softer private credit fundraising. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share from $1.16, an 11.2% increase that signals confidence in cash generation and supports the stock’s income appeal. Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted strategic expansion in AI and infrastructure, including a major AI data center loan and new public-private investment solutions with Wellington and Vanguard, which may support future fundraising and earnings growth. AI data center loan article
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone’s earnings call and transcript reinforced the same message: strong inflows, record assets, and AI investments are driving results, but investors are still watching whether the momentum can continue amid a tougher macro backdrop. TipRanks earnings call article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some pre-earnings commentary noted that private capital shares had lagged this year and that Blackstone was trying to broaden growth by targeting wealthy individuals, but those concerns were largely outweighed by the quarter’s stronger-than-expected results. Pre-earnings article

Blackstone Company Profile

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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