Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.83.

OCSL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson purchased 14,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.41 per share, with a total value of $199,943.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 71,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,054.47. The trade was a 26.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Armen Panossian purchased 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.13 per share, with a total value of $113,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,748.57. This trade represents a 62.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 259.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,691 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ OCSL opened at $14.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52-week low of $12.50 and a 52-week high of $19.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.20.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.06). Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $70.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,230.77%.

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.