Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Short Interest Up 38.8% in February

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,751,785 shares, an increase of 38.8% from the January 29th total of 3,422,833 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,122,179 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,122,179 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Down 4.8%

TSLX opened at $17.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $17.28 and a 52 week high of $25.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.00.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $108.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.11 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 37.99%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 74.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the period. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.25.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. The fund primarily targets senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, second-lien financings and equity co-investment opportunities. By structuring tailored capital solutions, Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to support growth initiatives, recapitalizations and refinancings across a diverse set of industries, including technology, healthcare and business services.

As an affiliate of Sixth Street Partners, a global alternative investment firm, the company leverages the broader platform’s credit research, operational expertise and industry relationships.