Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $129.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.07.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Blackstone stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.72.

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.