JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $149.00 to $154.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 14.53% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.88.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $2.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.19. 1,127,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,964,948. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 174,558 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,097,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 144.6% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 36,615 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,313,000 after buying an additional 21,645 shares during the period. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,477,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 36,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 9,375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.