Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $180.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.56.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $167.54 on Tuesday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $114.88 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.27.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 57.7% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 276 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.