Zacks Research Downgrades Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) to Strong Sell

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group began coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

BXMT opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.78, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.81 and a 200 day moving average of $18.30. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a fifty-two week low of $13.73 and a fifty-two week high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 72,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 over the last 90 days. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northside Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.