Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) has an average analyst rating of “Hold”, with nine firms covering the stock: five buys, three holds, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $25.13.
• The company recently reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating consensus estimates, while revenue came in below expectations. Analysts now expect BXSL to post $2.76 EPS for the full year.
• BXSL declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77, or $3.08 annualized, implying a 13.0% yield. The payout ratio is high at 161.26%, and shares were trading at $23.62 in Friday’s session.

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.1250.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BXSL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of BXSL opened at $23.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.17. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $32.81.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.15 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 31.63%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.0%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio is presently 161.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Secured Lending Fund news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at $597,546.60. This trade represents a 9.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,476,000 after buying an additional 832,179 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,149,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,597,000 after buying an additional 2,721,843 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,731,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,576,000 after buying an additional 2,504,617 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at $94,760,000. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 6.9% in the second quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 3,359,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,305,000 after buying an additional 216,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.