Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.8333.

TSLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

TSLX opened at $17.73 on Monday. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $25.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.07). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 25.25%.The firm had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck acquired 8,000 shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 18,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,120. The trade was a 78.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Alan Waxman acquired 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,636,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,090,000. This represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 553,000 shares of company stock worth $10,139,230 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLX. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the first quarter valued at $63,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at $98,000. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. The fund primarily targets senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, second-lien financings and equity co-investment opportunities. By structuring tailored capital solutions, Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to support growth initiatives, recapitalizations and refinancings across a diverse set of industries, including technology, healthcare and business services.

As an affiliate of Sixth Street Partners, a global alternative investment firm, the company leverages the broader platform’s credit research, operational expertise and industry relationships.