Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $134.00 to $157.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the asset manager's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price would indicate a potential downside of 7.05% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BX. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $166.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $2.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $168.91. 7,781,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,423,296. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $114.88 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $121.95 billion, a PE ratio of 58.04, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. Research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

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.