Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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 downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

OCSL opened at $12.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.28. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $11.94 and a 12-month high of $16.29.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 74.2% during the second quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 1,888,566 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,798,000 after acquiring an additional 804,422 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,335,000 after purchasing an additional 607,493 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469,328 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,991,000 after purchasing an additional 429,303 shares during the period. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,456,000 after buying an additional 274,667 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.