Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $13.50 to $10.50. The stock had previously closed at $11.10, but opened at $10.70. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Oaktree Specialty Lending shares last traded at $10.72, with a volume of 141,312 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms have also commented on OCSL. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 2.9%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $949.61 million, a P/E ratio of 29.95 and a beta of 0.52.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 14.8%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 444.44%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.