Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.60 on April 23rd

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share on Friday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 31st. This is a 22.1% decrease from Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a dividend payout ratio of 101.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to earn $2.58 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 119.4%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of BXSL opened at $24.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.39. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $28.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.13 and its 200-day moving average is $24.11.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $315.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.81 million. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BXSL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Monday, October 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Monday, October 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.89.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a business development company that invests in privately owned middle-market companies. The fund seeks to generate current income and long-term capital appreciation primarily through investments in senior secured, floating-rate loans.

BXSL’s portfolio may also include second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity investments. Its investments are generally made in companies across a range of industries, with an emphasis on businesses that have established operations and cash flows.