Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Stock Moved Up to Hold by Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:BXMT opened at $11.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 124.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.65. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $10.78 and a 12 month high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.7%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,088.89%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,716 shares of company stock worth $46,815 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,297,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,839,000 after acquiring an additional 233,357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $18,109,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 770,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,763,000 after acquiring an additional 19,423 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.6% during the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 483,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,261,000 after buying an additional 2,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 310,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company organized as a real estate investment trust. The company originates and holds senior loans secured by commercial properties, with a focus on institutional-quality assets and experienced real estate sponsors.

Its portfolio primarily consists of floating-rate mortgage loans used to finance acquisitions, refinancings, development and other capital needs for commercial real estate. The properties securing its loans may include office buildings, multifamily communities, hotels, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial assets.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.P., an affiliate of Blackstone.