Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $21.18 and last traded at $21.04, with a volume of 989821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -160.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.