Wills Financial Group LLC Boosts Position in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. $OCSL

Wills Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 295,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,588 shares during the quarter. Oaktree Specialty Lending comprises approximately 1.4% of Wills Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Wills Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending were worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 19.4% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Security National Bank now owns 4,607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 332,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 117,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 38,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OCSL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $11.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.31. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.63 and a 52 week high of $14.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $69.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.35 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 16.66%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 280.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.