Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives $154.82 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.82.

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BX traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.45. 1,163,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,753,750. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.05. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $97.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.