Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $22.48 and last traded at $22.47, with a volume of 238265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.20.

The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 39.05%.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on TSLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sixth Street Specialty Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 378.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.99.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc (NYSE: TSLX) is a business development company. The fund provides senior secured loans (first-lien, second-lien, and unitranche), unsecured loans, mezzanine debt, and investments in corporate bonds and equity securities and structured products, non-control structured equity, and common equity with a focus on co-investments for organic growth, acquisitions, market or product expansion, restructuring initiatives, recapitalizations, and refinancing.