Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,780,000 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the September 30th total of 7,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.
Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust
In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,270 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $65,149.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,026.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,148 shares of company stock worth $114,708. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Karpas Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.6% during the third quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC now owns 84,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 80,406 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 69,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 152.1% in the third quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 54,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.2% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,746,353 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,776,000 after purchasing an additional 53,809 shares in the last quarter. 55.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 2.6 %
BXMT stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,928,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,903,944. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $21.49 and a 12 month high of $34.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.61. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 1.27.
Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 9.33%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 14th. Investors of record on Friday, September 30th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 29th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 100.40%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $30.00 to $27.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 24th.
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 operates as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders.
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