Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Short Interest Update

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, an increase of 47.1% from the January 31st total of 1,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BXSL traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $33.48. 849,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,816. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $27.76 and a twelve month high of $34.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.43.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a net margin of 53.91% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $353.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.52 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.20%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point dropped their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $32.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.50 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.00 to $33.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.79.

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).