Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BXSL)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 4,486 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 254% compared to the average volume of 1,268 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 3,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.63 per share, with a total value of $100,128.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 21,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,677.21. This represents a 21.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,476,000 after buying an additional 832,179 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,260,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,024,000 after purchasing an additional 156,680 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 3,359,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,305,000 after acquiring an additional 216,835 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.6% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,044,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,300,000 after purchasing an additional 32,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 7.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,640,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,083,000 after acquiring an additional 106,924 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of BXSL stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.35. 1,831,759 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,064. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.68. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $24.85 and a 12 month high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 42.38%.The company had revenue of $358.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.79%.

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.