Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on OCSL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.17.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCSL opened at $11.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.66. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $10.63 and a 1 year high of $14.90.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 444.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth $42,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,025.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. 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.