Blackstone (BX) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is anticipated to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 17th. Analysts expect Blackstone to post earnings of $1.22 per share and revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter. Individual that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, analysts expect Blackstone to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $133.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Blackstone stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 34.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Blackstone from $186.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.72.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.