Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on BXMT. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE BXMT opened at $17.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.86 and a 200-day moving average of $18.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52 and a beta of 0.90. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.72 and a 52-week high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 74,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Northside Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Kennicott Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth $337,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.7% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,351 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 233,357 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.