Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $13.73 and a twelve month high of $20.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 158.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the transaction, the president owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northside Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during 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 last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.