Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.20 and last traded at $14.40, with a volume of 547924 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCSL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.00.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.54.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The company had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.93 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.11%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 238.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,598,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 130,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd raised its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 36,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 830 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.