Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.95.

Blackstone Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $125.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 14.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.