Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Put Options (NYSE:BXSL)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 3,314 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 132% compared to the average volume of 1,426 put options.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.88. 983,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,270,428. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $31.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.37.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is 161.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 25,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,546.60. This represents a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 78,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,023 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 67,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 15,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 5,281 shares during the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.