Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.28 and last traded at $23.3870, with a volume of 335942 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXSL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.50 to $24.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.09.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.07.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $196.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.59 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 39.69% and a return on equity of 11.82%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BXSL. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 45,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 5.9% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.7% during the third quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV lifted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 25,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by Blackstone Credit, the credit-oriented business of Blackstone Inc Launched in May 2020, BXSL seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation. The fund raises capital from institutional and retail investors and deploys it into a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans and other credit instruments.

The fund’s principal investment focus is on first-lien senior secured loans and unitranche debt extended to middle-market companies across North America.