Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,550,000 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the July 15th total of 17,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3 %

Blackstone stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $134.66. The stock had a trading volume of 317,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,515,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.42. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 2.44%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Argus upped their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 36,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 9,699 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 367,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,158,000 after buying an additional 28,856 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 20,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Blackstone by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 254,099 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,267,000 after acquiring an additional 20,830 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares during the period. 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.