Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives $24.88 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.75.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BXSL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Bass bought 2,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 25,107 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $23.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.81 and a 200 day moving average of $24.56. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.37. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52 week low of $22.47 and a 52 week high of $32.81.

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. The business had revenue of $254.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.15 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 31.63%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.