Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The stock traded as low as $17.91 and last traded at $17.9830, with a volume of 416912 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.19.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.25.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TSLX. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 78,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,699,000 after buying an additional 10,765 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 62,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth about $475,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $744,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 110,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.70.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $108.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.11 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 37.99% and a return on equity of 12.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.66%.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. The fund primarily targets senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, second-lien financings and equity co-investment opportunities. By structuring tailored capital solutions, Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to support growth initiatives, recapitalizations and refinancings across a diverse set of industries, including technology, healthcare and business services.

As an affiliate of Sixth Street Partners, a global alternative investment firm, the company leverages the broader platform’s credit research, operational expertise and industry relationships.