Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.75.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

BXMT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,072,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,753. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.51 and a twelve month high of $21.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -14.95 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.85.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.75%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -160.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $320,316,000 after purchasing an additional 63,338 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $149,752,000 after buying an additional 652,537 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,315,000 after buying an additional 801,083 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,134,000 after acquiring an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $35,662,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.