Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Announces Earnings Results

by · The Cerbat Gem

Blackstone (NYSE:BX – Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $130.26 on Friday. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Blackstone stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX – Free Report) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $186.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.72.

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Blackstone Company Profile

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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.

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