Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $16.37 and last traded at $16.6110, with a volume of 63708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Up 0.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.91 and its 200 day moving average is $19.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.60.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.07). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. This is an increase from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck purchased 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 18,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $324,120. This represents a 78.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLX. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. The fund primarily targets senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, second-lien financings and equity co-investment opportunities. By structuring tailored capital solutions, Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to support growth initiatives, recapitalizations and refinancings across a diverse set of industries, including technology, healthcare and business services.

As an affiliate of Sixth Street Partners, a global alternative investment firm, the company leverages the broader platform’s credit research, operational expertise and industry relationships.