Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OCSL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $13.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.39. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $12.50 and a 1 year high of $19.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 0.74.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $70.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.67 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.62%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 1,230.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson acquired 14,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $199,943.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,054.47. This trade represents a 26.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 130,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 36,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rezny Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Rezny Wealth Management Inc. now owns 274,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after buying an additional 16,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company. The fund specializing in investments in middle market, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loan, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt, expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred equity, and management buyouts in small and mid-sized companies.