Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Has Average Price Target of $144.57

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.57.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 23rd.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $118.46 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $122.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.46. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $165.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,392.80. This represents a 99.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 464,792 shares of company stock worth $12,205,945 and sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Altus USA Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $30,000. NBH Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% in the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment and advisory services to institutional investors, companies, and qualified individual investors. The company manages capital across private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, hedge fund solutions, secondaries, and growth-oriented investments.

Blackstone invests in and manages portfolios of businesses, properties, infrastructure assets, and credit instruments across a range of industries.