Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Price Target Cut to $20.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.50 to $20.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BXMT. UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.75.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

BXMT opened at $18.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.67 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.78 and a 200-day moving average of $18.88.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.26%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -160.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.