Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BX. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.71.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $122.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $91.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $120.06 and a 200 day moving average of $125.05. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone, Wellington Management, and Vanguard launched two new investment solutions that simplify access to public and private markets, potentially broadening distribution and supporting future fee growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone also expanded its strategic push into India infrastructure and AI services, highlighting new growth avenues beyond its core asset-management business. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Blackstone’s earnings release, which is expected to provide fresh guidance on fundraising, realizations, and performance across private equity, credit, and real estate. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to hold, suggesting a more balanced near-term view rather than a strongly bullish catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage suggests Blackstone’s private-market products are launching after an exodus from similar private credit funds earlier this year, which may keep investor sentiment cautious around new offerings. Article Title

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.