Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) from $27.00 to $28.00, indicating a potential 6.98% downside based on its previous close while maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• In contrast, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target for BXSL from $33.50 to $30.00, while the average target price set by analysts is $31.54 with a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund traded down 0.3% to $30.10, with the company recently reporting earnings that missed expectations, highlighting a challenging financial outlook.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 6.98% from the company's previous close.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.54.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.10. 157,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,207. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.46. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $344.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.55 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 47.80%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other Blackstone Secured Lending Fund news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 1,626 shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.78 per share, with a total value of $50,048.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $535,664.34. This represents a 10.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXSL. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 14,433 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,394,474 shares of the company's stock worth $45,055,000 after acquiring an additional 345,843 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 120.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 52,449 shares of the company's stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 28,676 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 92,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 30,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 12,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).

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