Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Zacks Research upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $12.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.53. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $10.63 and a 1 year high of $14.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 16.66%.The business had revenue of $69.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 280.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in 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 worth $198,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 43,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 19.4% during the third 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. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 11.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,940 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.