Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $13.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Blackstone Mortgage Trust traded as low as $10.77 and last traded at $10.7870, with a volume of 162,019 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.03.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BXMT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 in the last three months. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dupree Financial Group LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 85.1% in the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 596,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,834,000 after purchasing an additional 274,361 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 248.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 50.0% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,142.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.44.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 2,088.89%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company organized as a real estate investment trust. The company originates and holds senior loans secured by commercial properties, with a focus on institutional-quality assets and experienced real estate sponsors.

Its portfolio primarily consists of floating-rate mortgage loans used to finance acquisitions, refinancings, development and other capital needs for commercial real estate. The properties securing its loans may include office buildings, multifamily communities, hotels, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial assets.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.P., an affiliate of Blackstone.