Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

BX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.00.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $175.69. 1,584,719 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,445,690. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $179.15 and its 200-day moving average is $151.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $114.88 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $126.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.7% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 81.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 96,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,907,000 after purchasing an additional 43,028 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 4.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,044,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 13,369 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.