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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.90 per share, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 182,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,679.40. The trade was a 5.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,952,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $35,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $1,326,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,607,000 after acquiring an additional 20,487 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.95 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -16.20 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.88.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.92%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -408.70%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.