Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $17.50 to $20.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Blackstone Mortgage Trust traded as high as $20.73 and last traded at $20.67, with a volume of 1394347 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.53.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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 Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised 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 in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter valued at about $63,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.66 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.43.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.68%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.