UBS Group Initiates Coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL)

Key Points

• UBS Group has initiated coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.80% from the previous close.
• Blackstone Secured Lending Fund reported earnings of $0.77 per share, missing analysts’ estimates, with a revenue of $344.80 million compared to the consensus estimate of $353.55 million.
• The fund has garnered a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four analysts rating it as a Buy and three as a Hold, supporting a consensus target price of $31.32.

Analysts at UBS Group began coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.42% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BXSL. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.32.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of BXSL stock traded down $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $27.58. 1,422,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,121,875. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.45. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $25.89 and a twelve month high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.04). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 44.25%.The business had revenue of $344.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.55 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXSL. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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).