Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives $171.13 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $171.13.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $147.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.58 and a 200 day moving average of $167.47. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.