Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $175.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $169.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 2.44% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $170.84 on Friday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $114.88 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $123.35 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $178.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.37.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 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.