Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives $12.88 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.8750.

OCSL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $11.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.84. The company has a market cap of $998.94 million, a P/E ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $10.63 and a one year high of $15.85.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.1%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 444.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% during the 3rd 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469,328 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,991,000 after purchasing an additional 429,303 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,841,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,456,000 after purchasing an additional 274,667 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.