Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $21.18 and last traded at $21.04, with a volume of 989821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -17.99 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.81.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.93%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -160.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.