Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Short Interest Up 15.8% in December

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 998,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BXSL shares. Compass Point lowered their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $33.50 to $32.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two equities research analysts have 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXSL. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 51.7% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 5,035,082 shares of the company's stock worth $154,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,357 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,527,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,814,000 after buying an additional 346,894 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter worth $8,042,000. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 1,864,469 shares of the company's stock worth $57,090,000 after buying an additional 258,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd bought a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund during the third quarter valued at about $7,301,000. 36.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BXSL traded down $0.20 on Monday, hitting $33.07. 946,879 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 944,825. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.81. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $27.54 and a 52-week high of $33.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.43.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.31%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund's payout ratio is currently 85.56%.

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).