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

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.08.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BXMT. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $19.02 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week high of $23.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 634.00 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.18.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.88%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,266.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan acquired 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares in the company, valued at $3,414,153.60. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson bought 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at $7,406,892.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan purchased 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,153.60. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares worth $27,899. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $740,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,169,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,875,000 after acquiring an additional 528,950 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 364,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 26,346 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.