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

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.80.

Several research firms have commented on BXSL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 0.7 %

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock opened at $30.46 on Tuesday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $25.83 and a twelve month high of $32.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.76. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.44.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $327.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.23 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 58.08% and a return on equity of 13.36%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 5,035,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,357 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 106.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,180,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,393,000 after buying an additional 1,640,211 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 140,837.8% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 759,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,261,000 after acquiring an additional 759,116 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter worth about $12,199,000. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,042,000. 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).