Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $124.00 to $119.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 0.30% from the company’s previous close.

BX has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus dropped their price target on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.14.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $119.36 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $164,597,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Blackstone by 476.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after buying an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.