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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Of 10 analysts covering BXSL, five recommend holding, four recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $24.89.
• Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations: BXSL reported EPS of $0.75 versus the $0.66 consensus estimate, though revenue of $233.3 million fell short of the $326.72 million forecast.
• Dividend yield remains high: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77, equivalent to $3.08 annually and a 12.6% yield, despite a payout ratio of 242.52%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.8889.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock opened at $24.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.39. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $28.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.95.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $233.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.72 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 11.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter worth about $32,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund NYSE: BXSL is a business development company that provides financing to private, primarily U.S.-based companies. The fund is externally managed by an affiliate of Blackstone, a global investment firm, and operates as part of Blackstone's private credit platform.

BXSL's investment strategy focuses mainly on senior secured, floating-rate loans, with an emphasis on first-lien debt. Its portfolio companies are generally middle-market businesses across a range of industries.

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