Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.0 %

Blackstone stock traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $123.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,003,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,716,449. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.73. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market cap of $90.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Blackstone stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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.