On Friday, Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating on The Blackstone Group (NYSE: NYSE:BX) stock and increased the shares target to $149.00 from $134.00. The adjustment followed the company's trading performance, which saw a 1% rise despite an initial drop after a headline miss in pre-market activity.
The second quarter of 2024 showed softer results, but the firm's outlook for the second half of the year is more optimistic, with expectations for higher management fees and Fee-Related Earnings (FRE).
The firm's commentary highlighted positive fundraising and deployment trends that are anticipated to bolster future results. Additionally, Blackstone exhibited strong investment performance across various sectors, including real estate, private equity, credit, and multi-asset.
Despite these positives, Piper Sandler slightly reduced its 2024 earnings estimate for Blackstone to $4.74 from $4.80, while increasing the 2025 estimate to $5.97 from $5.94.
The revised price target of $149 is based on approximately 25 times the 2025 Distributable Earnings (DE) per share estimate, a decrease from the previous 28 times 2024 estimated DE. This change reflects a more conservative stance due to less certainty in the 2025 figures, which account for an expected rise in performance revenues.
Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating, signaling confidence that Blackstone will continue to effectively deploy capital and experience improving revenue trends through the remainder of 2024 and into 2025.
In other recent news, Blackstone Group LP reported a 3% increase in second-quarter distributable earnings, amounting to $1.3 billion, driven by robust asset sales in its private equity and credit divisions. However, the company narrowly missed the average analyst estimate of 98 cents per share for its distributable earnings.
Evercore ISI, maintaining an Outperform rating, raised its price target for Blackstone from $135 to $148, expressing confidence in the company's performance across several sectors.
Citi also revised its price target for Blackstone, increasing it from $127 to $135, while keeping a Neutral rating. The firm adjusted its earnings per share estimates for Blackstone for 2024 and 2025 to $4.89 and $6.23, respectively. Meanwhile, Jefferies lowered its price target for Blackstone from $145 to $138, yet sustained a Buy rating on the stock.
In other developments, a former analyst with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Blackstone Group Inc., Anthony Viggiano, received a 28-month prison sentence for insider trading. Additionally, Blackstone announced organizational changes to its business segments, with its GP stakes business now included under the Private Equity segment, and operations managed by Harvest Fund Advisors LLC moved to the Multi-Asset Investing segment.
Blackstone also sold Alinamin, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, to MBK Partners for approximately $2.17 billion, retaining a minority stake in the company. These are some of the recent developments at Blackstone.
InvestingPro Insights
As Piper Sandler maintains an optimistic view on The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) with an Overweight rating and a raised price target, InvestingPro data and tips offer additional perspectives for investors considering this asset management heavyweight. According to real-time data from InvestingPro, Blackstone's market capitalization stands at a robust $166.95 billion. The company's P/E ratio is currently high at 48.29, reflecting investor expectations of future earnings growth, while the PEG ratio of 0.2 suggests that the expected earnings growth may not be fully priced in. Furthermore, Blackstone's impressive revenue growth of nearly 130% over the last twelve months as of Q1 2024 highlights the company's successful expansion efforts.
InvestingPro Tips underscore two key insights: Blackstone is expected to see net income growth this year, which aligns with Piper Sandler's outlook for higher management fees and Fee-Related Earnings. Additionally, Blackstone has maintained dividend payments for 18 consecutive years, underscoring a commitment to shareholder returns. These tips, along with the many more available on InvestingPro, can guide investors to make informed decisions. For those interested in a deeper analysis, there are 11 additional InvestingPro Tips available at: https://www.investing.com/pro/BX. To gain access to these insights, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 for up to 10% off a yearly Pro and a yearly or biyearly Pro+ subscription.
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