Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given the Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy," with an average 12-month price target of approximately $31.41.
• Institutional investors currently own 36.49% of the stock, with several firms recently increasing their stakes or acquiring new positions in the company.
• Blackstone Secured Lending Fund reported $0.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77, reflecting an annual yield of 11.4%.

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.4063.

BXSL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter worth $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 45.1% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,270 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BXSL opened at $26.99 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $29.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.45. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $344.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 44.25%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio is presently 108.45%.

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).

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