Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Rating Increased to Outperform at Citizens Jmp

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was upgraded by Citizens Jmp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $165.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $186.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.22.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $137.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.02.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.