Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Issues Earnings Results

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $109.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.35 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 39.56%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.68. 271,892 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 475,036. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $18.58 and a 12-month high of $25.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 3.79 and a current ratio of 3.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.10.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 124,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 9,230 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 16,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 30,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 186.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 75,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 49,362 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the second quarter valued at about $231,000. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on TSLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.56.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a business development company. The fund provides senior secured loans (first-lien, second-lien, and unitranche), unsecured loans, mezzanine debt, and investments in corporate bonds and equity securities and structured products, non-control structured equity, and common equity with a focus on co-investments for organic growth, acquisitions, market or product expansion, restructuring initiatives, recapitalizations, and refinancing.