Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (BXMT) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several research firms recently commented on BXMT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 29th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $11.01 on Thursday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $10.11 and a one year high of $20.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -4.93, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $141.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 9.17% and a negative net margin of 48.18%. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.50 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.9%. This is a decrease from Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -84.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.43 per share, for a total transaction of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 233,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,668,790.70. The trade was a 4.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy Johnson acquired 90,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.50 per share, with a total value of $1,035,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 617,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,105,850. The trade was a 17.05% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,716 shares of company stock worth $46,815 over the last ninety days. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 14.1% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 14,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. 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 focused on commercial real estate finance. The company originates and acquires commercial mortgage loans, primarily senior loans secured by income-producing properties. Its investments span major commercial real estate markets in North America, Europe and Australia. Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by an affiliate of Blackstone and draws on the firm’s real estate investment platform. The company was formerly known as Capital Trust, Inc. and adopted the Blackstone Mortgage Trust name in 2013.