Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

A number of research firms have commented on BXMT. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:BXMT opened at $13.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.56, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.87. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52 week low of $13.61 and a 52 week high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.7%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 218,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This trade represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the transaction, the president owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,551.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,267,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,380,000 after buying an additional 3,069,406 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 24.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,082,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,740,000 after acquiring an additional 603,588 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,000,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 304,307 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $38,239,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,607,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,745,000 after acquiring an additional 264,256 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is 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.