Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Given New $26.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $26.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 5% upside from the prior close.
• Several other brokers (JPMorgan, Truist, UBS, Wells Fargo, RBC) have also trimmed targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus target of $26.28 and an average analyst rating of "Hold" (5 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell).
• BXSL traded around $24.77 with a market cap of $5.75 billion; the fund reported a modest EPS beat ($0.80 vs. $0.79) but revenue below consensus, and institutional investors own about 36.49% of the shares.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $27.00 to $26.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.99% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.50 to $24.75 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.28.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 2.6%

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock opened at $24.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.40. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $32.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.76.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 39.69%.The company had revenue of $196.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.59 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $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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