UBS Group AG Buys 429,303 Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. $OCSL

UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) by 47.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 429,303 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending were worth $16,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCSL. Bruni J V & Co. Co. increased its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 274,667 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% in 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. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,173,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,361,000 after purchasing an additional 134,557 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 102.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 267,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,496,000 after buying an additional 135,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Melia Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 1,215,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,867,000 after buying an additional 225,384 shares during the period. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OCSL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $12.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.56. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.63 and a 52-week high of $14.77. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.35 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Oaktree Specialty Lending 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.