Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.8333.

OCSL has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 34.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 468,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,201,000 after acquiring an additional 119,775 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 186,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 688.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,326 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,556,000 after buying an additional 469,328 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Up 0.7%

OCSL stock opened at $12.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.06. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a fifty-two week low of $10.63 and a fifty-two week high of $14.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 0.50.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $69.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.40 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 9.70%. As a group, analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company 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.