Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases New Stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. $OCSL

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 228,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,917,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.26% of Oaktree Specialty Lending at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,025.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on OCSL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Friday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.83.

Insider Activity at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

OCSL opened at $11.77 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.44. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.63 and a 1 year high of $14.77.

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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 280.70%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending 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.