Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on OCSL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Up 0.1%

OCSL stock opened at $12.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12 month low of $11.94 and a 12 month high of $16.29.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 444.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.6% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,087,981 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,248,000 after purchasing an additional 199,415 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 260,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after buying an additional 30,703 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 138,043.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73,216 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 73,163 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 303,769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 63,000 shares during the period. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 175,837 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 19,790 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.