Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.00.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE BX opened at $175.69 on Tuesday. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $114.88 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $126.85 billion, a PE ratio of 60.37, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.36.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 3.0% during the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $139,302,000 after buying an additional 51,897 shares during the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $214,000. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $806,000. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.