Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.8889.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BXSL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the first quarter worth $94,760,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,216,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,514,000 after buying an additional 326,366 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,720,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,137,000 after buying an additional 144,124 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,421,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,677,000 after acquiring an additional 18,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 896,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE BXSL opened at $24.84 on Monday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $22.47 and a 1 year high of $28.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.98. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.39.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The firm had revenue of $233.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.72 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 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, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.4%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is 242.52%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) is a business development company that provides financing to private, primarily U.S.-based companies. The fund is externally managed by an affiliate of Blackstone, a global investment firm, and operates as part of Blackstone’s private credit platform.

BXSL’s investment strategy focuses mainly on senior secured, floating-rate loans, with an emphasis on first-lien debt. Its portfolio companies are generally middle-market businesses across a range of industries.