Citigroup Boosts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $190.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.40% from the stock’s previous close.

BX has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $176.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,873,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,057. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $127.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.95.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $27,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently 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.