Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price target on Blackstone from $173 to $161 while keeping an outperform rating. The new target still implies about 33% upside from the prior close.
• Blackstone’s stock was trading at $120.96 on Monday, with the company carrying a market cap of about $89.9 billion. Its current consensus analyst rating remains Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $146.52.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.36 versus $1.34 estimated, though revenue came in slightly below expectations at $3.43 billion. Analysts expect Blackstone to earn about 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $173.00 to $161.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the asset manager's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 33.10% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BX. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.52.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $120.96. 479,545 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,831,400. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.75. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $164,597,000. Amundi grew its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Blackstone by 476.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone

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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