Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to $22 (from $24) and rates the stock "underweight," implying about a 9.1% downside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed after multiple target cuts (e.g., RBC, UBS, JPMorgan), with MarketBeat showing a consensus rating of Hold, a $26.03 consensus target, and a breakdown of 5 buys, 3 holds and 1 sell.
• Operationally, BXSL reported an EPS beat of $0.77 vs. $0.75 expectations but missed on revenue ($254.6M vs. $353.2M expected); the stock trades near $24.20 with a market cap of $5.62B and a 52-week range of $22.47–$32.81.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential downside of 9.08% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.50 to $24.75 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial cut Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $24.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.03.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $24.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.40. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $32.81.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 39.69% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $254.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.15 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BXSL. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.0% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 31,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 90.3% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,204 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 2,470 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 1st quarter valued at about $902,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,902,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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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