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

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.8750.

BXSL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $23.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.08. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $32.81. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 161.26%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,861.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,546.60. The trade was a 9.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 45,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter worth $358,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 34.8% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 147,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 38,130 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 22.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 331.5% in the third quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 71,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 54,799 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.