Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives $19.58 Average Price Target from Analysts

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.08.

BXMT has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.36. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $23.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 661.00 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,266.67%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,558.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson bought 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,900,558.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.