We recently published a list of Jim Cramer’s Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks in July. Since Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) ranks 8th on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Jim Cramer in a fresh episode of “Mad Money” on CNBC said that while investing isn’t easy, it’s made even more difficult by “authentic Wall Street gibberish” and “arcane technology.” Cramer said that there’s an “entire industry” in Wall Street wanting people to think that investing is hard and “ordinary people” cannot do it on their own. Cramer said that many people in the financial industry are just “after your fees” and they aren’t interested in making money from original investing. Cramer said that hedge fund managers and mutual funds make investing look inaccessible and impenetrable.
Cramer said that he’s “pulling back the curtain” and emphasized that investing isn’t “rocket science” or “brain surgery” and you don’t need to go to a business school to understand it. Cramer pitched himself as a “coach” or a “translator” who can explain the meaning of complex financial terms to ordinary people.
“You can comprehend all the mystical-sounding vocabulary we throw around here as long as you have a translator, a coach like me, who can explain what the darn words mean.”
For this article we watched several latest programs of Jim Cramer aired on CNBC and picked 10 stocks he’s talking about. With each company we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 55
Answering a question about private equity industry and KKR, Jim Cramer said in a recent program that he’d recommend Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) and KKR in the private equity space.
“The other one I’d recommend is Blackstone. Those two are the most comfortable recommending. Beyond that I don’t really feel comfortable because I trust these people and know what they are up to.”
Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) is one of the biggest names in the financials and investment management industry. The company has over $1 trillion in assets under management. As of the end of March this year, Blackstone’s cash, cash equivalents and corporate treasury investments stood at a whopping $8.4 billion. Blackstone’s PE ratio stands 45, which is higher than industry peers. However, given the company’s growth mode and steady dividends, Blackstone’s higher PE ratio is justified. Blackstone’s dividends also look safe, backed by huge cash positions and years of dividend growth. The company’s dividend grew at a CAGR of about 9% over the past decade.
Baron Real Estate Fund stated the following regarding Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) and Brookfield because we believe both companies are likely to increase market share in a secular growth opportunity for alternative assets.
Institutional allocations to alternative investment assets such as real estate, infrastructure, and private equity are likely to continue to grow significantly in the years ahead because alternatives have a long track record of generating attractive relative and absolute returns with less volatility than several other investment options.
We are bullish on the long-term prospects for Blackstone and Brookfield. Both companies are led by exceptional management teams that attract and retain exceptional talent. They are two of the largest real estate managers in the world with impressive investment track records. Both Blackstone and Brookfield have global franchises, strong brands, and loyal customers.
We believe the shares of both companies are attractively valued and are optimistic about the long-term potential for the Fund’s investments in both companies.”
Overall, Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) ranks 8th on Insider Monkey’s list titled Jim Cramer’s Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks in July. While we acknowledge the potential of Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX), our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion “Opportunity” for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.