UBS Group Upgrades Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to “Buy”

UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $180.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $149.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.19 billion, a PE ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.