Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.1667.

OCSL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL opened at $12.68 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.67 and its 200-day moving average is $12.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $10.63 and a 12-month high of $14.90.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 444.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCSL. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 34.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 468,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,201,000 after acquiring an additional 119,775 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the second quarter worth approximately $246,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.0% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 186,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 688.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,326 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469,328 shares during the period. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.