Blue Owl Technology Finance (NYSE:OTF) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance (NYSE:OTF) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

OTF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.40.

Blue Owl Technology Finance Price Performance

Shares of Blue Owl Technology Finance stock opened at $11.04 on Wednesday. Blue Owl Technology Finance has a 12-month low of $10.48 and a 12-month high of $21.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $11.23.

Blue Owl Technology Finance (NYSE:OTF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.02). Blue Owl Technology Finance had a net margin of 32.78% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $222.12 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Owl Technology Finance will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Owl Technology Finance announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Blue Owl Technology Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from Blue Owl Technology Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.7%. Blue Owl Technology Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Chris Temple purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.71 per share, with a total value of $74,970.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,520. This represents a 140.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Melissa Weiler purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $109,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 18,000 shares of company stock worth $194,710 over the last three months. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Owl Technology Finance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orange County Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Blue Owl Technology Finance during the fourth quarter worth $116,497,000. Bayshore Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Owl Technology Finance during the fourth quarter worth $2,220,000. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Owl Technology Finance by 141.2% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 674,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,078,000 after buying an additional 394,895 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in Blue Owl Technology Finance during the fourth quarter worth $8,220,000. Finally, Caz Investments LP boosted its holdings in Blue Owl Technology Finance by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Caz Investments LP now owns 1,159,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,857,000 after buying an additional 486,172 shares in the last quarter.

About Blue Owl Technology Finance

Blue Owl Technology Finance (NYSE: OTF) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) sponsored by alternative asset manager Blue Owl. The firm focuses on providing customized debt and structured capital solutions to technology and technology-enabled companies, with an emphasis on growth-stage and middle-market borrowers. As a BDC, its primary activities include originating, structuring and managing private credit investments tailored to the financing needs of fast-growing businesses.

Its investment approach typically centers on direct lending and credit-oriented products, including senior secured loans, unitranche and subordinated debt, as well as selective equity-linked instruments and structured financings.