Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives $12.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.8333.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on OCSL shares. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,335,000 after purchasing an additional 607,493 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469,328 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,991,000 after buying an additional 429,303 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $4,841,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,456,000 after buying an additional 274,667 shares during the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $12.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.53. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $10.63 and a one year high of $14.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 16.66%.The business had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 280.70%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.