Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives $132.24 Average PT from Analysts

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $153.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $110.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.32 and its 200 day moving average is $131.93. Blackstone has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $161.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 125.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.