Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Posts Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98, RTT News reports. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $118.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $84.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $79.92 and a 12-month high of $133.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.74.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.86%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 8,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 18,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,878,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.92.

About Blackstone

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.