Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.00.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.0 %

Blackstone stock opened at $175.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.95. The firm has a market cap of $126.85 billion, a PE ratio of 60.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $114.88 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 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.