Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 3,201 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 754% compared to the average daily volume of 375 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Clear Point Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 15.9% in the second quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

BXSL stock opened at $30.59 on Friday. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $27.23 and a 1 year high of $32.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.69.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.01). Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 58.08%. The business had revenue of $327.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Secured Lending Fund will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.07%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is 79.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXSL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $31.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.80.

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).