Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Given Buy Rating at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial restated their buy rating on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $20.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on TSLX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.71.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $17.64. 645,351 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,632. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.61. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $16.04 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 9.83 and a current ratio of 9.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company had revenue of $98.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLX. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 28.1% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,366,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,629,000 after buying an additional 519,456 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,552,000. Callodine Capital Management LP lifted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 1,129,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,761,000 after acquiring an additional 27,528 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 980,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,672,000 after purchasing an additional 135,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 233.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 969,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,648,000 after purchasing an additional 678,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately negotiated debt and equity investments, with a focus on supporting businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing.

Its investment portfolio generally includes first-lien and second-lien loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt, and related equity investments. Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to generate income through interest payments and other investment returns while providing customized financing solutions for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives, and other corporate purposes.

The company was formed in 2011 and is externally managed by an affiliate of Sixth Street, an investment firm focused on credit and other asset classes.