Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Analysts

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.83.

Several brokerages have weighed in on OCSL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $11.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 0.51. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $10.63 and a one year high of $14.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $69.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.40 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 9.70%. As a group, analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This is a drop from Oaktree Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,869,484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,202,000 after acquiring an additional 147,990 shares during the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,549,160. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 28.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,195,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,216,000 after buying an additional 492,070 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.0% in the first quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,463,000 after acquiring an additional 12,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter worth $8,980,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation (NASDAQ: OCSL) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company invests primarily in privately negotiated loans and other debt instruments, seeking to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing.

Its investment portfolio generally includes first-lien and second-lien loans, unitranche facilities, subordinated debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments. Oaktree Specialty Lending works with companies across a range of industries and may provide capital for acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancing and other general corporate purposes.

The company is externally managed by Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm.