Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.67.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $16.53 and a one year high of $21.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.89 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.81.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.