Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.83.

BXSL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Monday, October 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $25.50 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Monday, October 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 5.6% during the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.0% in the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.0% in the first quarter. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 78,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.3% in the third quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 30,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 9.4% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 11,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $23.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.09. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $28.59.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.81 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 is presently 256.67%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.