Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives $29.13 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.1250.

BXSL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter worth $37,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 319.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of BXSL stock opened at $24.51 on Friday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $24.17 and a 12-month high of $34.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.79 and its 200 day moving average is $27.71.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $358.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.55 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio 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.