Recent uptick might appease Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) institutional owners after losing 18% over the past year

If you want to know who really controls Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

After a year of 18% losses, last week’s 5.2% gain would be welcomed by institutional investors as a likely sign that returns might start trending higher.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Blackstone Mortgage Trust.

Our analysis indicates that BXMT is potentially undervalued!

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Blackstone Mortgage Trust?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Blackstone Mortgage Trust's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Blackstone Mortgage Trust is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.1% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.2% of common stock, and Blackstone Inc. holds about 3.9% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$48m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 42% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Blackstone Mortgage Trust. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Blackstone Mortgage Trust has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are significant) we think you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.