Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,000,000 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the October 31st total of 19,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lowered Blackstone from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.63.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Blackstone
Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $191.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $110.77 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $169.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.99.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 118.21%.
In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Blackstone, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Blackstone wasn't on the list.
While Blackstone currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.