Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.63.

BXSL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $33.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE BXSL opened at $29.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.88. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $25.89 and a 1-year high of $34.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $353.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.52 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 53.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.61%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.76%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,032,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,242,000 after buying an additional 46,771 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the third quarter valued at about $1,506,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 192,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.8% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 160,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,709,000 after acquiring an additional 5,837 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).