Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $130.78.

Several brokerages recently commented on BX. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $154.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.31 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.53. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $155.18.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackstone

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.