Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.80.

BXSL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Wednesday, August 14th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

BXSL opened at $30.40 on Tuesday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $25.83 and a fifty-two week high of $32.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.07 and a 200 day moving average of $30.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.44.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.01). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 58.08% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $327.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund 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).