Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.3636.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $117.42 on Wednesday. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.50. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

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.