Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

OCSL has been the topic of several other reports. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $12.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.94. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a fifty-two week low of $10.63 and a fifty-two week high of $14.31.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $69.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,025.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

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.