Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Receives “Buy” Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen restated their buy rating on shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a $183.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $197.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Blackstone from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.33.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $142.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.81.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business’s revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director James Breyer acquired 13,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,610. This trade represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 783,978 shares of company stock worth $22,058,454. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Blackstone by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,358,334,000 after acquiring an additional 412,281 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,462,706,000 after purchasing an additional 227,416 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,071,348,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone News Summary

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.