Brokerages Set Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Target Price at $19.58

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.08.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BXMT shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,558.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan bought 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,414,153.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and have sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 6,406 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $38,747,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $20.03 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.36. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week high of $23.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 667.67 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 7.98% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 6,266.67%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.