Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 8,341,638 shares, a decrease of 17.5% from the February 12th total of 10,107,725 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,176,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,176,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 3,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.24, for a total transaction of $60,240.44. Following the transaction, the president owned 78,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,512,898.92. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 37,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT opened at $19.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.36 and its 200 day moving average is $19.18. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 289.23%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.