Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.08.

BXMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE BXMT opened at $18.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.08 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $23.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True North Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.7% during the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 46,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.