Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Has Average Target Price of $24.89 According to Analysts

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.89.

Several analysts recently commented on BXSL shares. Zacks Research raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXSL opened at $24.10 on Friday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $28.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.99.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $320.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.72 million. Analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is 242.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter worth $94,760,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 326,366 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,720,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,137,000 after purchasing an additional 144,124 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,421,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,677,000 after purchasing 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% in the first 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a business development company that invests primarily in the debt of privately owned, middle-market companies. The fund focuses on generating income through a portfolio of senior secured loans, with an emphasis on first-lien loans and other floating-rate investments.

BXSL may also invest in second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity interests when appropriate. Its investments are sourced and managed through the private credit platform of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers.