Contrasting Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) & Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) and Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and Forge Global, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	1	7	4	0	2.25
Forge Global	1	2	0	0	1.67

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund presently has a consensus target price of $24.72, indicating a potential upside of 4.48%. Given Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is more favorable than Forge Global.

Risk & Volatility

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forge Global has a beta of 2.18, indicating that its share price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.5% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.7% of Forge Global shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Forge Global shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and Forge Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	21.03%	11.53%	4.97%
Forge Global	-71.87%	-29.06%	-24.63%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and Forge Global”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	$1.42 billion	3.89	$563.46 million	$1.20	19.72
Forge Global	$92.88 million	6.71	-$66.33 million	($5.20)	-8.65

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund beats Forge Global on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to private businesses. Its investment portfolio focuses primarily on senior secured, floating-rate loans, particularly first-lien debt, to established middle-market companies. The fund may also invest in second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity securities. Its investments span a range of industries, and its lending activity is focused mainly on companies in the United States. Formed in 2018, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is externally managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, part of Blackstone.

About Forge Global

Forge Global operates a financial technology platform focused on private-company securities. Its marketplace connects eligible investors and shareholders seeking to buy or sell shares in privately held companies, helping facilitate transactions in an asset class that is not typically traded on public exchanges. The company also offers services that support private-market transactions, including market data and insights, brokerage and transaction support, and custody and related services through its subsidiaries.