Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.77

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share on Friday, January 22nd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a dividend payout ratio of 101.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to earn $2.58 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 119.4%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of BXSL opened at $23.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.39. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52 week low of $22.47 and a 52 week high of $28.59.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 21.51%. The company had revenue of $315.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.81 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Monday, October 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research note on Monday, October 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.50 to $25.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.89.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a business development company that invests in privately owned middle-market companies. The fund seeks to generate current income and long-term capital appreciation primarily through investments in senior secured, floating-rate loans.

BXSL’s portfolio may also include second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity investments. Its investments are generally made in companies across a range of industries, with an emphasis on businesses that have established operations and cash flows.