Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . Approximately 918,712 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 1,511,793 shares.The stock last traded at $14.1840 and had previously closed at $14.97.

More Blackstone Mortgage Trust News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone Mortgage Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BXMT reported second-quarter revenue of $158.1 million, slightly above the $157.3 million consensus estimate. Adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share also exceeded the $0.38 consensus, while management highlighted loan growth and solid portfolio performance. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company plans to reduce office and pre-2023 loan exposure by more than 40% by year-end while expanding into homebuilder finance, a move that could improve portfolio diversification and reduce exposure to challenged commercial real estate segments. BXMT portfolio strategy report
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed its “market perform” rating, indicating neither a bullish nor bearish stance. Its price target was reduced from $20 to $16, which still implies potential upside from recent levels but reflects more cautious expectations. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods rating update
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS was $0.31, missing the $0.38 analyst consensus by $0.07. Realized gains and losses affected quarterly earnings, increasing concern about the quality and durability of profits despite the adjusted-EPS beat. BXMT Q2 earnings impact report
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis downgraded BXMT following the quarterly miss, suggesting that credit, office-market exposure and earnings volatility remain important risks for investors. Seeking Alpha BXMT downgrade analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.75.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.51 and a 200-day moving average of $18.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the sale, the president directly owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,385.93. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 over the last ninety days. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2,836.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 214,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 207,316 shares in the last quarter. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth about $4,845,000. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 96.4% during the first quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 85,750 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 86,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 43,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,346,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.