Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.64% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve 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 $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $148.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $762,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $800,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 23,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,136,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,070,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.