Wall Street Zen Downgrades Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) to Sell

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

OCSL has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.88.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

OCSL stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.87. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $10.63 and a one year high of $15.85. The company has a market capitalization of $975.16 million, a PE ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.52.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 15,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 8.3% during the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 11,578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.