Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from UBS Group

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $21.00 to $14.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on BXMT. Zacks Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:BXMT opened at $11.44 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52 week low of $10.11 and a 52 week high of $20.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.14. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 9.17% and a negative net margin of 48.18%. The firm had revenue of $141.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 0.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is a negative change from Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -84.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 233,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,668,790.70. This trade represents a 4.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy Johnson purchased 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.50 per share, for a total transaction of $1,035,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 617,900 shares in the company, valued at $7,105,850. This trade represents a 17.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 4,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that originates and manages senior loans secured by commercial properties. The company primarily provides floating-rate mortgage financing to owners and sponsors of institutional-quality real estate, earning income from interest and other fees associated with its lending activities.

Its loan portfolio has historically included properties across sectors such as office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and life sciences.