Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Short Interest Update

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 16,632,380 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the February 12th total of 13,014,635 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,432,101 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,432,101 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 1,146,789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,716,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,297,073.84. The trade was a 7.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.5%

BX stock traded up $3.78 on Tuesday, reaching $110.90. 843,900 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,408,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.83. Blackstone has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $82.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.80.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The company’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 153.61%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.