Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.8750.

A number of research firms have weighed in on OCSL. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 468,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,201,000 after acquiring an additional 119,775 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 368,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCSL opened at $11.07 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $10.63 and a fifty-two week high of $15.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $975.11 million, a PE ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.87.

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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend 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.