Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

OCSL stock opened at $11.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 0.52. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $16.29. 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 (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCSL. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,087,981 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,248,000 after purchasing an additional 199,415 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 13.3% in the second quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 260,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,563,000 after buying an additional 30,703 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 138,043.4% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73,216 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 73,163 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 303,769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 63,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,700,738 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,232,000 after acquiring an additional 179,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.