Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages 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 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.56.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $142.00 on Wednesday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $88.59 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $101.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.05.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.90%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.