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

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.3750.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BXSL shares. UBS Group cut their target price 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. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, 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.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Secured Lending Fund news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 3,760 shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.63 per share, with a total value of $100,128.80. Following the purchase, the insider owned 21,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,677.21. This trade represents a 21.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,476,000 after buying an additional 832,179 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1,160.9% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 869,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,680,000 after purchasing an additional 800,969 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 33.1% during the first quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 3,142,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,697,000 after purchasing an additional 781,394 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 106.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,166,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,859,000 after purchasing an additional 600,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 121.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,033,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,936,000 after purchasing an additional 566,034 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BXSL opened at $27.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.41. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a one year low of $24.85 and a one year high of $34.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.95.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $358.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.3%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.79%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.