Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $154.82.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Blackstone Trading Up 6.0 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $134.63 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.09. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $98.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders 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 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,053,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $139,302,000 after purchasing an additional 51,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.