Blackstone Inc. (BX) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 3rd

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of 1.29 per share by the asset manager on Monday, August 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a 11.2% increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16.

Blackstone has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Blackstone has a dividend payout ratio of 80.8% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Blackstone to earn $7.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.1%.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $128.18 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $95.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.