Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE BXMT opened at $19.00 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $16.51 and a 12 month high of $20.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.30 and its 200 day moving average is $19.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 3,131 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.24, for a total value of $60,240.44. Following the sale, the president owned 78,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,898.92. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,838 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 150,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 11.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 515,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,923,000 after buying an additional 51,309 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.