Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $192.00 to $186.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $176.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 123.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 10,952 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 83.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 4,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 7.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 146,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,504 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 7,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Single Point Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.