Short Interest in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Declines By 6.6%

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,480,000 shares, a drop of 6.6% from the January 15th total of 20,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True North Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $20.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.41. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $20.73.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.