Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,680,000 shares, a growth of 15.1% from the July 31st total of 1,460,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 935,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mckinley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mckinley Capital Management LLC now owns 352,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,359 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1,303.4% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 18,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 17,062 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 29,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 7.9% during the first quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 17,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 74,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,788 shares during the period. 36.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.50 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BXSL traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.15. 653,200 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 938,992. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.44. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $25.83 and a 12 month high of $32.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.72.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $327.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.23 million. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 58.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.22%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is 82.13%.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

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).