Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sets New 1-Year Low on Disappointing Earnings

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $18.37 and last traded at $19.04, with a volume of 1489415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.96.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -160.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 187.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.27 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.87.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.