Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 689,200 shares, a decrease of 26.5% from the December 15th total of 938,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 763,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rezny Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Rezny Wealth Management Inc. now owns 274,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,187,000 after buying an additional 16,544 shares in the last quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 36,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 130,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,598,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $15.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.47. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $14.89 and a 52 week high of $21.64.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 305.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on OCSL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.