Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $23.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.36. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $22.47 and a 1-year high of $32.81.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $254.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 11.73%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Bass purchased 2,095 shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,861.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,107 shares in the company, valued at $597,546.60. This represents a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

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.