Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $21.18 and last traded at $21.04, with a volume of 989821 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BXMT shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -17.99 and a beta of 1.52. The company 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.93%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $35,662,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,315,000 after acquiring an additional 801,083 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $149,752,000 after acquiring an additional 652,537 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 473.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 625,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,882,000 after acquiring an additional 516,023 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,118,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.