Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Director Acquires $21,560.00 in Stock

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Director Deborah Ann Gero purchased 2,000 shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.78 per share, with a total value of $21,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $263,150.58. The trade was a 8.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.63 and a 1 year high of $15.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $975.11 million, a P/E ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.52.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 444.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OCSL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.88.

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.