Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The stock traded as low as $10.88 and last traded at $10.8870, with a volume of 3548894 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 2.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.60 and a 200-day moving average of $16.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.91, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.92.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid 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 is currently 2,088.89%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,619.82. This represents a 4.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,239,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 233,357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,109,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 770,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,763,000 after purchasing an additional 19,423 shares during the period. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.6% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 483,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,971 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.