Analysts Set Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) PT at $31.38

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.38.

BXSL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.22. 1,259,681 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,351. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.76. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $25.89 and a 52-week high of $34.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $357.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $358.40 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 47.80% and a return on equity of 12.49%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.16%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 1,626 shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.78 per share, for a total transaction of $50,048.28. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 17,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $535,664.34. This trade represents a 10.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BXSL. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2,548.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,448,000 after purchasing an additional 10,615,491 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 54.1% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 3,214,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,986 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at $35,640,000. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 33.1% during the first quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 3,142,688 shares of the company's stock worth $101,697,000 after purchasing an additional 781,394 shares during the period. Finally, Progeny 3 Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth about $24,345,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).