Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.8750.

OCSL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 15,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 11,578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCSL opened at $11.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $975.11 million, a P/E ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.52. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52-week low of $10.63 and a 52-week high of $15.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.The firm had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.