Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (BXMT) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.60.

BXMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE BXMT opened at $10.51 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $10.45 and a one year high of $20.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.00 and a 200 day moving average of $16.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.72, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,088.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,619.82. The trade was a 4.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 3,716 shares of company stock worth $46,815 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.