Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Stock Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $12.08 and traded as high as $12.13. Oaktree Specialty Lending shares last traded at $12.13, with a volume of 378,854 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Monday, October 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Monday, October 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.23 and a 200-day moving average of $12.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $69.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.40 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 9.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.03 dividend. This is a drop from Oaktree Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,869,484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,202,000 after purchasing an additional 147,990 shares in the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,549,160. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,195,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,216,000 after purchasing an additional 492,070 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.3% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,087,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,847,000 after buying an additional 7,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.0% in the first quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,463,000 after buying an additional 12,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation (NASDAQ: OCSL) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately held businesses through senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche loans, and may also make subordinated debt and equity investments.

OCSL seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by partnering with companies across a range of industries. Its investments generally support acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives and other corporate purposes.

The company is externally managed by Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment management firm.