Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a growth of 124.1% from the February 28th total of 646,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 858,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $93,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on OCSL shares. B. Riley downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:OCSL traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $15.50. 626,610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,557. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $14.89 and a 52 week high of $19.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.88.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The business had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.93 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.32%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.81%.

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.