Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE BXMT opened at $12.33 on Wednesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 136.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,619.82. This trade represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $537,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at about $815,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates and holds senior mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate. Its lending activities primarily focus on transitional and institutional-quality properties, including office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and other commercial assets.

The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major real estate markets in the United States, Europe and Australia. Its loans are generally floating-rate and are designed to provide financing for acquisitions, refinancings, renovations, development and other commercial real estate activities.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Blackstone.