Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Earns “Market Outperform” Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a $21.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

OCSL has been the topic of several other research reports. B. Riley downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $20.80.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $19.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.00 and its 200 day moving average is $20.01. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $17.99 and a 1 year high of $21.64.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 28.81% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $97.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.19%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 145.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.07 per share, with a total value of $40,140.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,166 shares in the company, valued at $224,101.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GraniteShares Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 71,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.2% during the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 48,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 19,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 46,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company. The fund specializing in investments in middle market, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loan, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt, expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred equity, and management buyouts in small and mid-sized companies.