Insider Buying: Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Director Acquires $26,925.00 in Stock

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Director Phyllis Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $975.11 million, a P/E ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.52. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.63 and a 52 week high of $15.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.87.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.5%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 444.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on OCSL. Weiss Ratings downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.88.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.