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

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.3750.

Several research firms have weighed in on BXSL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Secured Lending Fund news, insider Robert J. Bass acquired 3,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.63 per share, for a total transaction of $100,128.80. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 21,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,677.21. This trade represents a 21.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 109.6% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

BXSL stock opened at $28.16 on Friday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a one year low of $24.85 and a one year high of $34.64. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.10.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $358.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.55 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 42.38% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.79%.

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).