Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives $31.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Key Points

• Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six covering brokerages, with an average twelve-month price target of $31.3750.
• Institutional investors, including Bank of America, have increased their stakes in the fund, with over 36.49% of the stock currently owned by these entities.
• The fund recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, yielding 10.5% annually, although its dividend payout ratio is high at 108.45%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.3750.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BXSL traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.00. 965,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,442. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.45. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $25.89 and a fifty-two week high of $34.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.80 and its 200 day moving average is $31.01.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $344.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter worth $37,000. TT Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter worth $1,036,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 210.6% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,608 shares of the company's stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 13,973 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 41.7% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 5,305 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 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).