Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Short Interest Update

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,590,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the August 31st total of 16,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $151.88. 2,948,489 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,472,039. The stock has a market cap of $108.54 billion, a PE ratio of 53.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.86. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $88.59 and a 12 month high of $161.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BX. Barclays increased their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Blackstone by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 254,099 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,267,000 after purchasing an additional 20,830 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,455,000 after buying an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2,072.0% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,802,000 after buying an additional 34,872 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.