Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BXSL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.75 to $24.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $23.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

BXSL opened at $23.14 on Tuesday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $22.47 and a 1 year high of $32.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.37.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.77 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, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 161.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

In other news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.80 per share, with a total value of $49,861.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,546.60. This trade represents a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $94,760,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,149,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,597,000 after buying an additional 2,721,843 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,731,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,576,000 after buying an additional 2,504,617 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,476,000 after acquiring an additional 832,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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.