Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives $20.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.25.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.3 %

BXMT opened at $18.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.16 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.88. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.94%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -408.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the 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 owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True North Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.