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

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.7778.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BXSL shares. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $23.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at $597,546.60. This trade represents a 9.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BXSL. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at about $94,760,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.5% in 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 purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake 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 valued at $240,476,000 after purchasing an additional 832,179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Up 0.0%

BXSL opened at $23.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.15. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $31.87.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 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 analyst estimates of $353.15 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is 161.26%.

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.