Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.10 and last traded at $13.2740, with a volume of 2232439 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BXMT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Pena sold 2,398 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 74,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This trade represents a 4.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth $18,109,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 758.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 185,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,546,000 after buying an additional 163,577 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,297,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,839,000 after acquiring an additional 233,357 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 75.7% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 238,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 102,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 96.4% during the 1st quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 85,750 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates and holds senior mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate. Its lending activities primarily focus on transitional and institutional-quality properties, including office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and other commercial assets.

The company’s portfolio is concentrated in major real estate markets in the United States, Europe and Australia. Its loans are generally floating-rate and are designed to provide financing for acquisitions, refinancings, renovations, development and other commercial real estate activities.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors LLC, an affiliate of Blackstone.