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

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a growth of 15.8% from the November 30th total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 998,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 49,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 6.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 8,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Price Performance

BXSL traded down $0.16 on Monday, hitting $33.11. The company had a trading volume of 810,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,045. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.43. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $27.54 and a 52-week high of $33.48.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s payout ratio is presently 85.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXSL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $32.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.54.

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).