Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.77 (NYSE:BXSL)

Key Points

• Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, payable July 24 to shareholders of record June 30, implying an annualized yield of 12.6%.
• The fund’s dividend appears unsustainable from earnings alone, with a payout ratio of 101.3% and analysts’ forecasts implying a future payout ratio near 111% against the $3.08 annualized dividend.
• BXSL missed the quarter’s expectations, reporting $0.11 EPS versus $0.75 expected and $254.6M in revenue versus $353.2M estimated, and the stock traded down to about $24.38 intraday.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.77 per share on Friday, July 24th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a dividend payout ratio of 101.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to earn $2.77 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 111.2%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

BXSL stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.38. 5,140,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,613,335. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.40. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $22.47 and a 1-year high of $32.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.59.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.64). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 39.69% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds 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. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company's stock.

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.

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