Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.50 to $32.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

BXSL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $33.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $32.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.54.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of BXSL stock opened at $33.16 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.47. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $27.76 and a twelve month high of $34.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.43.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $353.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.52 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 53.91% and a return on equity of 13.15%. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is 85.56%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 52,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 209,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,774,000 after acquiring an additional 29,115 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,533,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,548,000 after acquiring an additional 151,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

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).