Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BXSL. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $23.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BXSL opened at $23.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.37. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $22.47 and a 1 year high of $32.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.80 and its 200-day moving average is $24.53.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its quarterly 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. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.15 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the first quarter worth about $94,760,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,149,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,843 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,731,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504,617 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,476,000 after buying an additional 832,179 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.