Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on OCSL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research cut Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,259,370 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,524,000 after acquiring an additional 245,207 shares in the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,495,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,795,000 after purchasing an additional 8,691 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,173,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,361,000 after purchasing an additional 134,557 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,087,981 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,248,000 after buying an additional 199,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 11.8% in the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,700,738 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,232,000 after buying an additional 179,563 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $11.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $11.29 and a 52 week high of $16.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.18. The company has a market capitalization of $998.94 million, a P/E ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.52.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.1%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 444.44%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation (NASDAQ: OCSL) is a closed-end, externally managed specialty finance company structured as a business development company (BDC). Launched in 2014, Oaktree Specialty Lending provides customized debt solutions to U.S. middle-market companies, with a focus on senior secured loans, second-lien financings, mezzanine debt and select equity co-investments. The company’s investment strategy centers on floating-rate instruments designed to offer downside protection and income potential in varying interest rate environments.

The firm’s portfolio spans a diverse array of industries, including healthcare, technology, energy, business services and consumer products.