Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on BX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $174.06 on Thursday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $114.88 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.81, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.