Blackrock Health Sciences Trust

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust is a closed-end investment fund. Its investment objective is to provide total return through a combination of current income, current gains and long-term capital appreciation. The company was founded on March 31, 2005 and is headquartered in Wilmington, DE.

BlackRock Health Sciences is trading at a discount not seen since the Global Financial Crisis, creating a potentially strong opportunity at this time. BME is a healthcare-focused fund with a stable underlying portfolio that employs a covered call writing strategy. BME's distribution has never been cut since its inception going back to 2005, and despite some softer performance, it doesn't look at risk either.

BME: Discount Widens Substantially Creating An Opportunity

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust is a diversified closed-end fund that focuses on the healthcare sector, offering a 6.35% dividend yield. BME currently trades at a historical discount to NAV of nearly -8%. The fund presents an attractive opportunity to capitalize on the projected growth of the healthcare industry and increased medical spending.

BME: Trading At A Historical Discount To NAV

BlackRock Taxable Municipal Bond Trust

BlackRock Capital Allocation Trust

BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust

BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust

BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust

BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust II

BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust

BlackRock Science & Technology

BlackRock Science and Technology Trust II

BlackRock Utilities Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust

BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fund

Blackrock ESG Capital Allocation Trust

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

Certain BlackRock Closed-End Funds Announce Estimated Sources of Distributions

Tekla World Healthcare Fund

We had contrasting outlooks on the BlackRock Health Sciences Trust and abrdn World Healthcare Fund closed-end funds on our last coverage, with BME getting a "Buy" and THW getting a "Goodbye". BME has outperformed THW by 10% in total returns since then. We update our outlook and explain why one of these two gets a downgrade.

BME Vs. THW: A Distribution Cut Should Widen The Performance Gap

Aberdeen Standard Global Infr Inc Fd

Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Global Dividend Income Fund

John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund

NXG NextGen Infrastructure Income Fund

Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund

PIMCO Dynamic Income Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund

Cohen & Steers Tax-Adv Pref Secs and Inc Fund

Cohen & Steers Real Estate Opportunities and Income Fund

Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund

Reaves Utility Income Fund

I have a total of 41 positions in my closed-end fund portfolio, with the top ten positions making up 36.52% of the portfolio. We have four new names making their way to my top ten list since the prior update, but three were already positions that have simply grown to be larger allocations. Closed-end funds overall look to be a place of opportunity as discounts remain historically wide across both equity and fixed-income-focused funds.

My Top 10 Closed-End Fund Holdings: December 2023

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust aims to generate total returns through a combination of current income and long-term capital appreciation. BME employs a covered call strategy, resulting in a high dividend yield of 6.7% that has not been cut since switching to a monthly distribution. The fund's portfolio consists of profitable and large-cap companies in the health sciences sector.

BME: Historically One Of The Best Times For Entry

Adams Diversified Equity Fund

ClearBridge Energy MLP Fund Inc

Central Securities

European Equity Fund

Templeton Emerging Markets Fund

Eaton Vance Tax Advantaged Global Dividend Opportunities Fund

Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund

Sprott Focus Trust

General American Investors

Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust

Gabelli Global Small and Mid Cap Value Trust

Eagle Capital Growth Fund Inc

Gabelli Healthcare & Wellness Trust

Tekla Healthcare Investors

Tekla Life Sciences Investors

India Fund Inc

Morgan Stanley India Investment Fund Inc

Barings Corporate Investors

Barings Participation Investors

Mexico Fund

PIMCO Energy and Tactical Credit Opportunities Fund

Income Portfolio - 38 CEFs Worth Exploring

Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Value Fund

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF

Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund

September was the worst month for equities in 2023, but that's simply creating buying opportunities for the long-term investor. I added to four different positions in my CEF portfolio this month, though they are all familiar names that I've already owned. The theme this month was once again avoiding taking on leveraged funds, and none of the four funds take on any leverage in the form of borrowings.

4 Closed-End Fund Buys In The Month Of September 2023

BlackRock Health Sciences is trading at an attractive discount, creating a potential opportunity for income investors. BME employs a covered call writing strategy and has a history of steady monthly distributions. The fund's portfolio is focused on large and stable healthcare companies, providing defensive characteristics in volatile markets.

BME: A Discounted Opportunity In The Healthcare Space

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust is a CEF focusing on healthcare, offering a 6.5% yield and a strong performance record, even beating S&P 500 in total returns since its inception. The fund trades stocks and writes covered calls, and is currently trading at a rare -4.3% discount against its NAV; its dividends have remained fairly flat despite its holdings being known as dividend growers. BME is considered a good fund with an above-average performance and supports a dividend yield close to 7%, but investors should not expect dividends to rise significantly in.

BME Offers A Good Mix Of High Yield And Market-Beating Total Returns

ArrowMark Financial

Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund

Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund

Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund II

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

Putnam High Income Securities Fund

LMP Capital and Income Fund

For income investors, closed-end funds remain an attractive investment class that covers a variety of asset classes and promises high distributions and reasonable total returns. Closed-end funds, or CEFs, are generally characterized by higher volatility and deeper drawdowns than the broader market. For these reasons, they are not suited for everyone. In this monthly series, we highlight five CEFs that have solid track records, pay high distributions, and are offering "excess" discounts. We try to separate the wheat from the chaff using our filtering process to select just five CEFs every month from around 500 closed-end funds.

5 Best CEFs To Buy This Month (June 2023)

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LLYC Study Reveals What U.S. Businesses Should Know About The Evolving Creator Economy

BME continues to trade flirting at or close to premiums but remains a solid holding nonetheless. If you lack some healthcare exposure, BME could be one way to gain further exposure.

BME: A Solid Healthcare Fund For The Long Term

BME is a large-cap focused health care CEF. It pays a generous 5.9% distribution yield.

BME: Solid High Yielding Healthcare CEF

BME is a top healthcare CEF with a long tenure that offers monthly distributions and an average yield. Many of its top individual holdings are currently on dips, making it a good time to consider buying BME.

BME: Well-Positioned Healthcare CEF For Monthly Income

BME trading at a premium isn't new, and it continues to trade at a slight premium now. This fund has never cut its distribution since launching in 2005; only a handful of funds have achieved this.

BME: Steady Distributions From This Healthcare Fund

Aberdeen Income Credit Strategies Fund

Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund

Cornerstone Strategic Value Fund Inc

Cornerstone Total Return Fund Inc

Delaware Investments Dividend and Income Fund

Delaware Enhanced Global Dividend & Income Fund

Eaton Vance Enhanced Equity Income Fund

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Opportunities Fund

First Trust / Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund

Gabelli Utility Trust

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

New American High Income Fund

BlackRock Corporate High Yield Fund

Ivy High Income Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Investors Trust

Macquarie Global Infrastructure Total Return Fund Inc

Virtus AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund

Virtus AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund II

Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc.

Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund

Tortoise MLP Fund

RiverNorth/DoubleLine Strategic Opportunity Fund, Inc.

Oxford Lane Capital

PCM Fund

Pimco California Municipal Income Fund

Pimco Municipal Income Fund II

Pimco California Municipal Income Fund III

RiverNorth Opportunities Fund, Inc.

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund

Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure

Virtus Total Return Fund

12 out of 23 CEF sectors positive on price and 6 out of 23 sectors positive on NAV last week. Tortoise offer tender results.

Weekly Closed-End Fund Roundup: Tortoise Tender Results, NCZ Resumes Distributions (November 6, 2022)

Cohen & Steers Reit And Preferred Income Fund Inc

Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund Inc

The volatility had continued since earlier this year when we last looked at my top ten CEFs. With closed-end fund discounts widening, there seem to be more opportunities in the space overall.

My Top 10 Closed-End Fund Holdings: October 2022

Health Sciences Trust is a closed end fund focused on healthcare equities. BME is a CEF that pays a 6% dividend yield which is now inadequate given 1-year Treasuries are yielding 4%.

BME: Overpriced Health-Care CEF, Paltry 6% Yield

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund

I have added to five positions in my portfolio, but I haven't included any new names. There was a mix of funds that were at attractive discounts, but also some that were pushing premiums.

5 Closed-End Fund Buys In The Month Of August 2022

On the surface, these two funds have similar sounding names but are quite different. BME holds more traditional healthcare names, while BMEZ invests in smaller, private, and biotech positions.

BME And BMEZ: 2 Quite Different Choices

CBRE Global Real Estate Income Fund

Tri-Continental

I so badly want to back up the truck, but.

How We're Trading This Mess: Cash Now, These 3 Big Dividends Later

BME focuses on an underlying portfolio of healthcare stocks with a covered call strategy. The fund has a long history of consistent distributions with no cuts since the fund's inception.

BME: Good Times, Bad Times, A Fund For All Times

Tortoise Essential Assets Income Term Fund

Investors received a bit of a reprieve in terms of losses as the market headed higher in March. I followed up February's 3 purchases with another 3 purchases for the month of March.

3 Closed-End Funds Bought In March 2022

BME is highly concentrated on large caps, but it is yet to recover from the pandemic.

BME: High Concentration In Large Cap Led To Huge Downfall

News for Blackrock Health Sciences Trust ETF (BME)