BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. (DSU)
Financial Services · NYQ
Fundamentals
Valuation and ratings
BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. trades at USD9.52, close to the USD10.14 our discounted cash flow model puts on the business. On this measure the market and the model broadly agree, so the interesting question is which of them is wrong.
Our moat model scores it 61 out of 100, which is a moat, but not a deep one. A moat is a structural reason competitors cannot take the profits away, and it matters more to a long holding period than any single quarter's numbers do.
It changes hands at 13.7 times earnings. Be careful reading that in isolation: for a cyclical business a low P/E arrives at the top of the cycle, when profits are peaking and about to fall, which is exactly when the shares look cheapest and are not.
DSU dividend history
Dividends per share by year
| Year | Total per share | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (year to date) | USD0.693 | 7 |
| 2025 | USD1.19 | 12 |
| 2024 | USD1.19 | 12 |
| 2023 | USD1.05 | 12 |
| 2022 | USD0.701 | 11 |
| 2021 | USD0.732 | 12 |
| 2020 | USD0.832 | 12 |
| 2019 | USD0.836 | 12 |
| 2018 | USD0.828 | 12 |
| 2017 | USD0.822 | 12 |
| 2016 | USD0.748 | 12 |
Split-adjusted amounts in the listing currency, grouped by the calendar year of the ex-dividend date, from the filed record. Growth and streak figures compare complete years only.
About BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc.
BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. It invests in fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of companies' debt instruments, including corporate loans, which are rated in the lower rating categories of the established rating services (BBB or lower by S&P's or Baa or lower by Moody's) or unrated debt instruments, which are in the judgment of the investment adviser of equivalent quality. It was formerly known as Debt Strategies Fund Inc. BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. was formed on March 27, 1998 and is domiciled in the United States.
DSU passes 3 of our 30 screens today
Each screen prints the exact criteria it used, and the circumstances in which it is wrong.
Common questions
Is BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. (DSU) undervalued?
Against our discounted cash flow estimate of USD10.14, DSU at USD9.52 is 7% below fair value. That is one model's answer, not a recommendation, and most of a DCF's output sits in a terminal value nobody can forecast.
What is DSU's P/E ratio?
DSU trades at 13.7 times earnings. A low P/E is not automatically cheap: on a cyclical company it is usually a warning that earnings are at a peak.
Does BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. (DSU) pay a dividend?
Yes. BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. yields 12.52% at the current share price. It has paid USD1.19 per share over the trailing twelve months. It has paid a dividend in each of the last 28 complete calendar years. A dividend is declared by the board and can be cut at any time; a yield is a fact about the current price, not a promise.
The full research page for DSU, with financial statements, ownership detail, peer comparison and alerts, is free inside the app.
Data from company filings, exchange quotes and SEC EDGAR 13F disclosures. Quotes are delayed. Metrics we do not have are left out rather than estimated. Educational information, not financial advice.