Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BXSL)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 2,204 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 84% compared to the typical volume of 1,199 put options.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock remained flat at $24.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 480,607 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,369,321. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $23.30 and a 1 year high of $33.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.59 and its 200-day moving average is $26.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.43.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $196.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.59 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 39.69%. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.7%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 139.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 10,696 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 61.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 341,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,513,000 after buying an additional 129,892 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at $1,125,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.13.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

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.