Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 2,803 put options on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, a 74% increase above the average put volume of 1,610, suggesting rising bearish hedging or speculation.
• Insider buying: Insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares at an average price of $23.80, boosting his ownership by 9.10% and signaling insider confidence.
• Mixed fundamentals and outlook: BXSL fell to $23.17 and remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while analysts have trimmed price targets and the stock carries a consensus rating of Hold. The fund still pays a hefty quarterly dividend of $0.77, implying a 13.3% annualized yield.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,803 put options on the company. This is an increase of 74% compared to the average volume of 1,610 put options.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other Blackstone Secured Lending Fund news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 2,095 shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at $597,546.60. The trade was a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 45,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 25,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BXSL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $23.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.13.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXSL traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.17. 1,376,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,483,432. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.38. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $32.81.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $254.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.15 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's payout ratio is currently 161.26%.

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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