Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The company traded as low as $17.91 and last traded at $17.9830, with a volume of 416912 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.19.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TSLX. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLX. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 1.4% in the second quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 35,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.2% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 42,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 21,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.26 and a 200-day moving average of $22.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.70.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 37.99%.The company had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 101.66%.

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.