Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $14.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.44 and its 200 day moving average is $18.59. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $14.11 and a 1 year high of $20.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.49 and a beta of 0.91.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,466.12. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 259.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone Mortgage Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loan growth and portfolio performance were described as encouraging, while management is targeting a reduction of more than 40% in office and pre-2023 loan exposure by year-end. BXMT also plans to expand into the approximately $200 billion homebuilder-finance market, which could improve portfolio diversification over time. Blackstone Mortgage Trust exposure reduction and homebuilder finance article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $18 from $19 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. The target cut appears to reflect a more cautious valuation rather than a negative fundamental view. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed its “market perform” rating but reduced its price target sharply to $16 from $20. The new target still indicates potential upside, but the reduction signals less confidence in near-term appreciation. Finviz analyst rating report
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were mixed. BXMT reported revenue of $158.1 million, slightly above the $157.3 million consensus, but EPS was reported at $0.31 versus expectations of $0.38. Another earnings measure cited by Zacks showed $0.48 per share, highlighting differences between reporting metrics; nevertheless, realized gains and losses weighed on the quarter’s headline results. Blackstone Mortgage Trust earnings impact article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings shortfall prompted a broader reassessment of BXMT, with commentary characterizing the quarter as a reason for a downgrade despite strong loan growth and performance. Continued office-market exposure and realized losses remain key investor concerns. Blackstone Mortgage Trust downgrade analysis

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.