Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Short Interest Up 6.4% in March

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,810,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the March 15th total of 25,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 12.8 days.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

BXMT stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,284,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,109,275. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.83 and a 52-week high of $23.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.74. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.42.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 175.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BXMT. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Central Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 447.5% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.