Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.8333.

OCSL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $11.81 on Thursday. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $10.63 and a 12-month high of $14.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.01 and its 200-day moving average is $12.35.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 16.66%.The company had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 280.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCSL. Bruni J V & Co. Co. increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% in the third quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,456,000 after purchasing an additional 274,667 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,335,000 after acquiring an additional 607,493 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,173,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,361,000 after acquiring an additional 134,557 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 22.8% in the third quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 1,215,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,867,000 after acquiring an additional 225,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 102.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 267,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 135,662 shares during the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by 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.