Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes $2.81 Million Position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. $TSLX

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 152,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TSLX. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter valued at $75,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the first quarter valued at $63,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $109,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.67.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

TSLX stock opened at $17.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.09 and its 200-day moving average is $18.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.04 and a 1 year high of $24.79.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 146.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 18,250 shares in the company, valued at $324,120. The trade was a 78.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.