Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives $20.25 Average Target Price from Analysts

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 182,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,679.40. The trade was a 5.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True North Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -16.04 and a beta of 1.12. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -408.70%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.