Muzinich & Co. Inc. Acquires 70,052 Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. $OCSL

Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) by 26.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,052 shares during the period. Oaktree Specialty Lending accounts for about 1.7% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Oaktree Specialty Lending worth $4,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 71,922 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 79,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 18,600 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 88.9% in the third quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 126,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 59,536 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 286.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,918 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 31,800 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on OCSL shares. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.25.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCSL opened at $12.76 on Tuesday. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a twelve month low of $12.44 and a twelve month high of $16.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $76.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 410.26%.

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.