Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.38.

Several analysts have commented on BX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE BX opened at $139.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.26. Blackstone has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.