Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.51 and last traded at $16.74, with a volume of 1128179 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.75.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -160.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,316,000 after acquiring an additional 63,338 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $149,752,000 after purchasing an additional 652,537 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,315,000 after purchasing an additional 801,083 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,134,000 after buying an additional 121,633 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $35,662,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.