Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $13.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Blackstone Mortgage Trust traded as low as $10.77 and last traded at $10.7870, with a volume of 162,019 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.03.

BXMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 218,523 shares of the company’s stock, 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 the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth about $18,109,000. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 596,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,834,000 after purchasing an additional 274,361 shares during the period. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,845,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,297,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,839,000 after purchasing an additional 233,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 758.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 185,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,546,000 after purchasing an additional 163,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,088.89%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.