Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Stock Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.71 and traded as low as $17.45. Sixth Street Specialty Lending shares last traded at $17.6350, with a volume of 428,168 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.71.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 0.61.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $98.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.59 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,954,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 21.6% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,165 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 89.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 15,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 8.8% in the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 191,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 15,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. is a business development company that provides customized financing to middle-market companies. Its investment strategy focuses on privately negotiated loans and other investments in businesses across a range of industries. The company’s investments include senior secured first-lien loans, unitranche and second-lien loans, and, in some cases, mezzanine debt and equity. It primarily serves companies in the United States, including both sponsor-backed and non-sponsor-backed businesses.