Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $175.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.36. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $114.88 and a 1 year 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 stock has a market cap of $126.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 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.