Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Releases Earnings Results

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) posted its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 44.25% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $358.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $26.68. 1,443,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,372,125. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.42. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $24.85 and a 1-year high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.45%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass bought 3,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.63 per share, with a total value of $100,128.80. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 21,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,677.21. The trade was a 21.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BXSL. Glenview Trust co acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at about $304,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 41.7% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 139.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 10,696 shares during the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXSL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.41.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).