HSBC Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $174.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target lowered by HSBC from $178.00 to $174.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.33.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.4%

Blackstone stock opened at $142.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $153.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.81. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 132.99%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 68,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,912,817.16. This trade represents a 25.27% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 783,978 shares of company stock valued at $22,058,454. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,358,334,000 after acquiring an additional 412,281 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,462,706,000 after buying an additional 227,416 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Blackstone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,071,348,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Blackstone reported EPS of $1.75 and revenue of $4.36B, both topping estimates; record AUM and large inflows underpinned results and demonstrate momentum in deals, fees and infrastructure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — BX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.49 (15.5% increase vs. prior quarter), implying a ~4.2% yield and signaling management confidence and stronger cash return to shareholders. (Company release)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst notes — TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” and set a $183 target; Citizens Jmp kept a “market outperform” with a $195 target, both signaling sizable upside from current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management/sector commentary — Blackstone highlighted AI-related investment as a major economic driver and continues to signal interest in data-center and infrastructure opportunities, which is strategic but longer-term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor event scheduled — CFO Michael Chae will present at the BofA Financial Services Conference on Feb 10; investors should watch the webcast for additional color on capital deployment and fee trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts to neutral — JPMorgan trimmed its target from $176 to $158 and moved to “neutral,” signaling less conviction on near-term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman trims target — Goldman cut its PT from $166 to $158 and maintained a “neutral” stance, adding to the pushback from some sell-side desks despite the beat. Read More.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.