Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.72 and last traded at $13.72, with a volume of 487641 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 151.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.32 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.8%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 218,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,619.82. The trade was a 4.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $41,917.04. Following the sale, the president owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,466.12. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northside Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.