Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives $20.67 Average PT from Analysts

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.67.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $48,086.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,143,680.90. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,345 shares of company stock worth $68,265. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT opened at $20.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.78. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $21.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.61 and a beta of 1.52.

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 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%. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.12%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.