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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.8750.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OCSL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 27,748 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 12,961 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,061.2% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 135,868 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after buying an additional 124,167 shares during the period. VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,020,000. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $2,637,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $4,841,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $10.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.78. The stock has a market cap of $963.70 million, a P/E ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 0.52. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1-year low of $10.63 and a 1-year high of $15.69.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.The firm had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 444.44%.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.