Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Evercore ISI

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $175.00 to $170.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.42% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $171.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.86.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BX opened at $142.35 on Friday. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.81. The firm has a market cap of $105.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.Blackstone’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Breyer bought 13,900 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $143.86 per share, with a total value of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 68,906 shares in the company, valued at $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. This trade represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 783,978 shares of company stock worth $22,058,454. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $657,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $202,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Blackstone reported EPS of $1.75 and revenue of $4.36B, both topping estimates; record AUM and large inflows underpinned results and demonstrate momentum in deals, fees and infrastructure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — BX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.49 (15.5% increase vs. prior quarter), implying a ~4.2% yield and signaling management confidence and stronger cash return to shareholders. (Company release)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst notes — TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” and set a $183 target; Citizens Jmp kept a “market outperform” with a $195 target, both signaling sizable upside from current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management/sector commentary — Blackstone highlighted AI-related investment as a major economic driver and continues to signal interest in data-center and infrastructure opportunities, which is strategic but longer-term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor event scheduled — CFO Michael Chae will present at the BofA Financial Services Conference on Feb 10; investors should watch the webcast for additional color on capital deployment and fee trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts to neutral — JPMorgan trimmed its target from $176 to $158 and moved to “neutral,” signaling less conviction on near-term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman trims target — Goldman cut its PT from $166 to $158 and maintained a “neutral” stance, adding to the pushback from some sell-side desks despite the beat. Read More.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.