Analyst Michael Hecht of Bank of America has cut his earnings estimate for Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) by half for the next quarter from $.25 to $.11. Blackstone’s stock now trades at just over $15 down frrom a 52-week high of $38.

The reason for the drop, according to The New York Post is "leveraged buyouts plunged by more than two-thirds in the second half of 2007 from the first half."

Douglas A. McIntyre