Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BX. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $170.86 on Monday. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.07, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.89. 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 (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 123.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 10,952 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 146,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,504 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Blackstone by 1.7% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,804 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 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.