Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, with five holds, four buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $24.89, modestly above the reported $24.10 share price.
• BXSL reported quarterly EPS of $0.75, beating the $0.66 consensus estimate, while revenue of $320.47 million fell short of expectations. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $2.85.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, equivalent to a 12.8% annualized yield, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.89.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BXSL. Oppenheimer began 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 target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $94,760,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth $20,142,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,890,349 shares of the company's stock worth $49,773,000 after purchasing an additional 602,417 shares during the period. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at about $5,787,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:BXSL opened at $24.10 on Friday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $28.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.99.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 21.51%.The company had revenue of $320.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.72 million. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 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 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's payout ratio is presently 242.52%.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund NYSE: BXSL is a business development company that invests primarily in the debt of privately owned, middle-market companies. The fund focuses on generating income through a portfolio of senior secured loans, with an emphasis on first-lien loans and other floating-rate investments.

BXSL may also invest in second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity interests when appropriate. Its investments are sourced and managed through the private credit platform of Blackstone, one of the world's largest alternative asset managers.

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