Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.67.

BXMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE BXMT opened at $20.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.89 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $21.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.81.

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, 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%. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.98%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.