Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Trading Down 0.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• BXSL shares fell 0.8% to about $24.23 in midday trading, with volume 37% above its average; the company has a $5.64 billion market capitalization.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $24.89. Recent targets range from $23 to $26.
• BXSL reported quarterly EPS of $0.75, beating estimates by $0.09, and declared a $0.77 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 12.7% annualized yield.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.20 and last traded at $24.2250. 1,743,133 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,268,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BXSL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.89.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.95.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $233.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $326.72 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.7%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio is 242.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 25,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Valtrion Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Valtrion Capital Management LLC now owns 14,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.4% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 15,030 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

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.

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