Bank of America Upgrades Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) to “Buy”

Bank of America upgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.50 to $30.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James restated a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $30.42.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXSL opened at $31.14 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.47. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $31.71.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 53.50%. The firm had revenue of $304.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.58 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 57.1% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 181.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1,090.7% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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).