This week saw market gains and a slight decline in my Dividend Harvesting Portfolio, emphasizing the importance of staying grounded and vigilant in investing. The portfolio's profitability stands at 27.94%, with forward annualized dividend income reaching $1,889.19, showcasing the success of my diversified, income-focused strategy. I added to NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, boosting dividend income and positioning for future growth in a lower rate environment.
The S&P 500 is projected to finish between 6,700 and 7,200 in 2025, driven by lower Fed rates and potential corporate tax cuts. The Dividend Harvesting Portfolio reached new all-time highs with a 29.08% return, generating $1,876.88 in forward annualized dividend income. Consistent weekly investments and reinvesting dividends have significantly grown the portfolio, showcasing the power of income investing even with limited capital.
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL ) Q3 2024 Results Conference Call November 12, 2024 9:30 AM ET Company Participants Stacy Wang - Head, Stakeholder Relations Brad Marshall - Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bock - Co-Chief Executive Officer Carlos Whitaker - President Teddy Desloge - Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Finian O'Shea - Wells Fargo Securities Casey Alexander - Compass Point Robert Dodd - Raymond James Kenneth Lee - RBC Capital Markets Paul Johnson - KBW Mark Hughes - Truist Securities Melissa Wedel - JPMorgan Operator Good day, and welcome to the Blackstone Secured Lending Third Quarter 2024 Investor Call. Today's conference is being recorded.
Although the revenue and EPS for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) give a sense of how its business performed in the quarter ended September 2024, it might be worth considering how some key metrics compare with Wall Street estimates and the year-ago numbers.
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.90 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.95 per share a year ago.
A durable income-focused portfolio strategy reduces income reduction risk and stress by prioritizing stable income over market-beating returns. In this respect, I have outlined my detailed approach for security selection and portfolio construction. Plus, I provide practical security examples for each of the portfolio buckets: strategic offense, strategic defense, tactical offense, and tactical speculation.
The Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is a "Buy" due to its attractive 10%+ dividend yield, appealing valuation, and low-risk portfolio. BXSL's operational performance is strong, with net investment income up 12.6% and solid revenue growth despite a minor decline in debt investment yields. The portfolio is low-risk, with 99% in first-lien senior secured debt, a low non-accrual ratio, and strong diversification across industries and companies.
The Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) stock has done modestly well this year, rising by 7.20%. It has underperformed the market, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones rising to their all-time highs.
Publicly traded business development companies (BDCs) are growing in popularity for their astounding dividend income. Like real estate investment trusts (REITs), BDCs must distribute 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends.
The strong September jobs report suggests a robust economy, benefiting high-yield investments like Blackstone Secured Lending and MPLX LP. BXSL carries a conservatively managed, diversified portfolio with high floating-rate debt exposure, and has consistently covered its dividend with net investment income. MPLX offers stable, fee-based cash flows, strong distribution growth, and strategic capital projects, supported by a solid balance sheet and investment-grade credit rating.
The Fed's 50 basis points rate cut signals a potential recession, urging long-term investors to focus on quality companies with strong fundamentals. Blackstone Secured Lending, Ares Capital, and Golub Capital BDC are well-equipped to handle economic downturns due to their strong portfolios, first-lien loan exposures, and investment-rated balance sheets. BDCs like BXSL, ARCC, and GBDC have high liquidity, investment-grade credit ratings, and experienced management, positioning them favorably for economic volatility.
Most retirement portfolios are structured to provide predictable and attractive current income. To fulfill these two criteria, the businesses have to carry robust capital structures, be exposed to high-quality cash flows, and, importantly, provide a decent yield already from the start. In this article, I elaborate on two blue-chip picks, which, in my opinion, have to be included in a retirement portfolio.