Head-To-Head Analysis: Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) versus StoneX Group (NASDAQ:SNEX)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) and StoneX Group (NASDAQ:SNEX) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and StoneX Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	21.03%	11.53%	4.97%
StoneX Group	0.33%	20.18%	1.05%

Risk and Volatility

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StoneX Group has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and StoneX Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	1	7	4	0	2.25
StoneX Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund presently has a consensus price target of $24.72, suggesting a potential upside of 2.98%. StoneX Group has a consensus price target of $112.00, suggesting a potential upside of 93.44%. Given StoneX Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe StoneX Group is more favorable than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

36.5% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of StoneX Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of StoneX Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and StoneX Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	$1.42 billion	3.95	$563.46 million	$1.20	20.01
StoneX Group	$132.38 billion	0.05	$305.90 million	$4.19	13.82

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has higher earnings, but lower revenue than StoneX Group. StoneX Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

StoneX Group beats Blackstone Secured Lending Fund on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to private businesses. Its investment portfolio focuses primarily on senior secured, floating-rate loans, particularly first-lien debt, to established middle-market companies. The fund may also invest in second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity securities. Its investments span a range of industries, and its lending activity is focused mainly on companies in the United States. Formed in 2018, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is externally managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, part of Blackstone.

About StoneX Group

StoneX Group Inc. is a global financial services company that connects businesses, institutions and individual investors with markets. Its services include trade execution and clearing, risk management, market intelligence, and financing for participants in commodity and financial markets. The company serves commercial and institutional clients across sectors such as agriculture, energy and metals, and offers foreign exchange, securities and other trading services. Its retail business provides online trading platforms, while its payments operations support domestic and cross-border transactions.