Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives $13.75 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.75.

OCSL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note 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 report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $11.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $11.09 and a 12-month high of $16.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.42 and its 200 day moving average is $13.11.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million for 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.0%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 444.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCSL. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 15,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 11,578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

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.