Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Upgraded by UBS Group to Strong-Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BXMT. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.5%

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.04 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $20.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.4%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.