Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Stock Price

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) had its price target dropped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.50 to $20.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 14.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.5%

BXMT traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.43. 747,404 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,464,421. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.13. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $17.11 and a one year high of $20.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,082,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,740,000 after buying an additional 603,588 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,000,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 304,307 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $38,239,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.7% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 264,256 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,354,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,919,000 after purchasing an additional 277,280 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.