Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Cut to $144.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $154.00 to $144.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective points to a potential upside of 25.85% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BX. Citigroup raised Blackstone from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.27.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $114.42. 689,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,049,229. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $166.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.21.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,392.80. The trade was a 99.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,038,406 shares of company stock worth $27,205,951 and sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,376 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 34,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,822,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 112,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 21,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 82.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 23,206 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.