Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citizens Jmp lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $15.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1-year low of $14.89 and a 1-year high of $20.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.12.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The business had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.93 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 328.36%.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCSL. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 601.4% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.