Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $17.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 580.33 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.93. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.70 and a twelve month high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8,266.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $39,123.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,454.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $39,123.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,194,454.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $79,025.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 182,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,207,288.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,057 shares of company stock worth $191,141. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.93.

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.