Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Price Target Increased to $32.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $31.50 to $32.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.10.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Up 0.3 %

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.99. 178,086 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,795. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $25.83 and a fifty-two week high of $32.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.44.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.01). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 55.54%. The company had revenue of $327.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is 82.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 106.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,180,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640,211 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 140,837.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 759,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,261,000 after acquiring an additional 759,116 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,199,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 549,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,193,000 after acquiring an additional 253,504 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth $54,740,000. 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).