Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Hits New 52-Week Low on Disappointing Earnings

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

The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.89%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -408.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BXMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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.