Short Interest in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Rises By 19.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund rose 19% in March to 10.74 million shares (about 4.6% of the float), with a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 3.9 days.
• The fund pays a quarterly $0.77 dividend (annualized $3.08) for a yield of about 12.5%, but the payout ratio is elevated at 125.2%, signaling potential sustainability risk.
• Shares traded near $24.67 (market cap ~$5.73B); the company slightly beat EPS estimates but posted a revenue shortfall, and analyst coverage is mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and a $26.28 price target.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,743,624 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the March 15th total of 9,030,522 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,769,650 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at approximately $958,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 502.0% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 49,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 41,238 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,247,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

NYSE BXSL traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $24.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,674,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,535,631. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $32.81. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.40.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 39.69%.The company had revenue of $196.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.59 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.5%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's payout ratio is presently 125.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXSL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. B. Riley Financial cut Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $24.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.50 to $24.75 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.28.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.