Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Pass Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.98 and traded as low as $13.97. Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares last traded at $14.0150, with a volume of 1,540,098 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.94.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The firm 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 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,088.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 218,523 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,619.82. The trade was a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $28,506.90. Following the sale, the president owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,385.93. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Northside Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.