Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a growth of 47.1% from the January 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXSL has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $33.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Compass Point dropped their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $32.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.79.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.87. 1,439,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,536. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.03 and a 200 day moving average of $31.56. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $27.76 and a fifty-two week high of $34.64.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 53.91% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $353.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $346.52 million. On average, equities research analysts expect 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, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.76%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $560,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 52,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 209,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,774,000 after buying an additional 29,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 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).