Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Announces Earnings Results

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. 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), FiscalAI reports. 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 net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 7.72%.

Here are the key takeaways from Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s conference call:

• Distributable earnings before realized gains and losses were $0.48 per share, covering the $0.47 dividend, although GAAP results showed a $0.48-per-share loss and distributable earnings including realized losses were $0.31 per share.
• BXMT received $1.2 billion of repayments and deployed $1.4 billion into newer investments focused on residential, industrial, and net lease assets. Management expects office and pre-2023 loan exposure to decline by at least 40% by year-end.
• Portfolio performance weakened modestly, with 97% of loans performing versus 98% last quarter and three new impairments, including a $345 million Chicago office loan. Higher interest rates are increasing pressure on roughly $1 billion of watchlist loans, primarily lower-cash-flow office assets.
• The company entered homebuilder finance, citing a roughly $200 billion addressable market, reduced bank lending, granular collateral, and expected mid-to-high-teens levered yields. Its net lease portfolio also expanded to $661 million, with more than $150 million of acquisitions closed or pending in July.
• Book value fell 4% to $19.31 per share, largely because of higher CECL reserves and real estate depreciation, while management warned that impairments, repayments, and portfolio-rotation efforts could weigh on third-quarter earnings and may factor into the board’s dividend review.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE BXMT traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $14.53. 6,002,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,602,879. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.44 and a 200-day moving average of $18.59. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 161.49 and a beta of 0.90. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $14.11 and a 12 month high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is presently 2,088.89%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Loan growth and portfolio performance were described as encouraging, while management is targeting a reduction of more than 40% in office and pre-2023 loan exposure by year-end. BXMT also plans to expand into the approximately $200 billion homebuilder-finance market, which could improve portfolio diversification over time. Blackstone Mortgage Trust exposure reduction and homebuilder finance article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $18 from $19 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. The target cut appears to reflect a more cautious valuation rather than a negative fundamental view. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed its “market perform” rating but reduced its price target sharply to $16 from $20. The new target still indicates potential upside, but the reduction signals less confidence in near-term appreciation. Finviz analyst rating report
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were mixed. BXMT reported revenue of $158.1 million, slightly above the $157.3 million consensus, but EPS was reported at $0.31 versus expectations of $0.38. Another earnings measure cited by Zacks showed $0.48 per share, highlighting differences between reporting metrics; nevertheless, realized gains and losses weighed on the quarter’s headline results. Blackstone Mortgage Trust earnings impact article
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings shortfall prompted a broader reassessment of BXMT, with commentary characterizing the quarter as a reason for a downgrade despite strong loan growth and performance. Continued office-market exposure and realized losses remain key investor concerns. Blackstone Mortgage Trust downgrade analysis

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock valued at $95,233. 1.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Kennicott Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kennicott Capital Management LLC now owns 36,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 249,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 6,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.50.

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.