Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Short Interest Update

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 13,014,635 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the January 29th total of 10,516,063 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,953,203 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 8,953,203 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha upgraded BX to “Strong Buy,” arguing recent declines are sentiment‑driven and that Blackstone’s fundamentals (AUM growth, dry powder, dividend yield) remain strong. Blackstone: Don’t Let Sentiment Obscure The Fundamentals (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report that Blackstone is among suitors eyeing a bid for UK aerospace supplier Senior — potential deal activity could generate fees and execution opportunities. Blackstone among suitors eyeing bid for UK’s Senior
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone President Jon Gray publicly defended the credit quality in the firm’s flagship private‑credit vehicle, calling much of the market reaction “noise” — management is pushing confidence even as outflows occur. Blackstone’s Gray: Market ‘noise’ fueled record redemptions
• Negative Sentiment: Record redemptions from BCRED: multiple reports show higher‑than‑expected withdrawal requests (figures cited include $3.8B in redemption requests and net outflows topping inflows by $1.7B in the quarter), citing investor concern about private‑credit stress — the core driver of today’s selloff. Blackstone Played Down Private‑Credit Risks. Now It’s Been Hit.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/financial impact: reports say Blackstone has increased investor payouts from the $82B private‑credit fund to meet redemptions, which raises short‑term liquidity and margin concerns for the vehicle. Blackstone hikes investor payouts from $82B private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction: JPMorgan cut its price target to $122 (neutral) and Barclays trimmed its target to $126 (equal weight), reflecting increased near‑term risk and reducing analyst support for the stock. JPMorgan adjusts price target on Blackstone to $122 Barclays adjusts price target on Blackstone to $126

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.86.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.1%

Blackstone stock traded down $3.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $111.81. The stock had a trading volume of 10,194,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,906,296. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.03. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $105.09 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.80. 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 (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 1,146,789 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,716,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,297,073.84. This represents a 7.37% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,462,706,000 after buying an additional 227,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.