Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Blackstone Mortgage Trust Call Options (NYSE:BXMT)

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 2,989 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,798 call options.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:BXMT opened at $20.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average of $18.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.08%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,607,000 after buying an additional 20,487 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $821,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,134,000 after buying an additional 121,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.