Blackstone (NYSE:BX – Get Rating) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.
Several other analysts have also issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Blackstone from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Blackstone to $102.00 in a report on Friday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.
Blackstone Stock Down 0.4 %
NYSE:BX traded down $0.33 on Friday, hitting $93.82. 3,584,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,690,413. The company has a market cap of $65.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $149.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.74.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 21st. The asset manager reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 22.48% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 96.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone
In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 71,223 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.95, for a total value of $6,691,400.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,141,965 shares in the company, valued at $107,287,611.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 71,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.95, for a total value of $6,691,400.85. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,141,965 shares in the company, valued at $107,287,611.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.68, for a total transaction of $235,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 862,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,196,304. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 218,115 shares of company stock worth $11,664,771 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 864,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $77,457,000 after buying an additional 9,204 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 20.5% in the second quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Blackstone by 31.4% in the second quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Blackstone by 39.6% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 74,906 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,834,000 after purchasing an additional 21,247 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 5.3% during the second quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,720 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.87% of the company’s stock.
Blackstone Company Profile
Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.