Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target decreased by Evercore ISI from $175.00 to $170.00 in a report published on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BX. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Blackstone from $176.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.86.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.4%

BX opened at $142.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.81. The stock has a market cap of $105.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.75. Blackstone has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.49 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 132.99%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 384,468 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.01 per share, with a total value of $10,000,012.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,818,293.17. This represents a 2.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 783,978 shares of company stock worth $22,058,454. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Blackstone reported EPS of $1.75 and revenue of $4.36B, both topping estimates; record AUM and large inflows underpinned results and demonstrate momentum in deals, fees and infrastructure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — BX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.49 (15.5% increase vs. prior quarter), implying a ~4.2% yield and signaling management confidence and stronger cash return to shareholders. (Company release)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst notes — TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” and set a $183 target; Citizens Jmp kept a “market outperform” with a $195 target, both signaling sizable upside from current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management/sector commentary — Blackstone highlighted AI-related investment as a major economic driver and continues to signal interest in data-center and infrastructure opportunities, which is strategic but longer-term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor event scheduled — CFO Michael Chae will present at the BofA Financial Services Conference on Feb 10; investors should watch the webcast for additional color on capital deployment and fee trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts to neutral — JPMorgan trimmed its target from $176 to $158 and moved to “neutral,” signaling less conviction on near-term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman trims target — Goldman cut its PT from $166 to $158 and maintained a “neutral” stance, adding to the pushback from some sell-side desks despite the beat. Read More.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.