Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.8750.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $23.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 2,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 25,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,546.60. This trade represents a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 26,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 4,495 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,958,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 147,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,850,000 after acquiring an additional 38,130 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,777,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 49,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $23.69 on Wednesday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $22.47 and a twelve month high of $32.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.85 and its 200 day moving average is $24.72. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.38.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $254.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.15 million. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.0%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 161.26%.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by Blackstone Credit, the credit-oriented business of Blackstone Inc Launched in May 2020, BXSL seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation. The fund raises capital from institutional and retail investors and deploys it into a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans and other credit instruments.

The fund’s principal investment focus is on first-lien senior secured loans and unitranche debt extended to middle-market companies across North America.