Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was down 1.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $31.07 and last traded at $31.11. Approximately 989,437 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 1,050,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BXSL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.38.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.47.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 53.91%. The firm had revenue of $357.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.90%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.16%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass bought 1,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.78 per share, for a total transaction of $50,048.28. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 17,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $535,664.34. This trade represents a 10.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2,548.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,448,000 after buying an additional 10,615,491 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,682,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,925,000 after acquiring an additional 741,285 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 4,953,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,033,000 after acquiring an additional 78,054 shares during the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 54.1% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 3,214,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,986 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 33.1% during the first quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 3,142,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,697,000 after purchasing an additional 781,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

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).