Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $24.50 to $25.50. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.11 and traded as high as $24.24. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares last traded at $24.1270, with a volume of 2,782,678 shares.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BXSL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 report on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.83.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.7% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,025,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,601,000 after acquiring an additional 27,188 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 30,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 18,114 shares during the period. Lunate Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd now owns 1,280,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,699,000 after purchasing an additional 279,362 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 257,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.10.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last released its 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 21.51% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The company had revenue of $315.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.81 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 31st will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. This is a decrease from Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 256.67%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.