The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) has received an “A-” credit rating from Morningstar. The research firm’s “A-” rating indicates that the company is a low default risk. They also gave their stock a five star rating.

In other The Blackstone Group L.P. news, major shareholder Group L.P. Blackstone acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.72 per share, for a total transaction of $1,272,000.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Several hedge funds and institutional investors have made changes to their positions in the stock. ING Groep boosted its position in shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. by 30.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep now owns 8,623,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,109,000 after buying an additional 2,008,959 shares during the period. Janus Capital Management boosted its position in shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. by 0.3% in the third quarter. Janus Capital Management now owns 27,382,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,192,000 after buying an additional 70,028 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group boosted its position in shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group now owns 115,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Finally, CT Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CT Financial Advisors now owns 12,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,252 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on BX. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday. Sandler O’Neill dropped their price objective on shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of The Blackstone Group L.P. from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.04.

The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) opened at 26.27 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day moving average is $32.84. The Blackstone Group L.P. has a one year low of $22.31 and a one year high of $44.43. The stock has a market cap of $16.22 billion and a PE ratio of 15.67.

The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $877.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Blackstone Group L.P. will post $2.87 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 8th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 4th. This is a boost from The Blackstone Group L.P.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49.

The Blackstone Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager. The Company’s alternative asset management businesses include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, hedge fund solutions, non-investment grade credit, secondary funds and multi-asset class exposures falling outside of other funds’ mandates. The Company’s segments include Private Equity, Real Estate, Hedge Fund Solutions and Credit. The Company’s Private Equity segment focuses on identifying, managing and creating lasting value for its investors. The Company manages a number of global, European and Asian focused opportunistic real estate funds, several real estate debt investment funds, a real estate investment trust (NYSE:BX). The Company’s Hedge Fund Solutions group consists of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM). Its credit business consists of GSO Capital Partners LP (GSO). It is a participant in the leveraged finance markets.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:BX

To view more credit ratings from Morningstar, visit www.jdoqocy.comclick-7674909-10651170.

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