Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.4286.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBH Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of BX opened at $128.48 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $96.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.44%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.