Short Interest in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Increases By 42.0%

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,436,257 shares, an increase of 42.0% from the February 26th total of 2,419,269 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 884,462 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 87.7% during the fourth 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 period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,061.2% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 135,868 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,731,000 after buying an additional 124,167 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,020,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,637,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $4,841,000. Institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.94. 593,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,182. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $10.63 and a twelve month high of $15.69. The company has a market cap of $963.70 million, a P/E ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its 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 net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on OCSL shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

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.