Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.1250.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BXSL shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.50 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. B. Riley dropped their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 319.1% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

BXSL opened at $26.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.41. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $24.85 and a twelve month high of $34.64.

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

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 11.7%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.79%.

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.