Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.75.

Several research firms have commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $48,086.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5,656.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 59,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 58,545 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth $2,176,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 532,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,269,000 after buying an additional 56,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 425,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,399,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $17.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.93. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -160.68%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.