Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Stock Now Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Analysts

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.83.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

OCSL opened at $11.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.51. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12 month low of $10.63 and a 12 month high of $14.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.17.

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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a negative change from Oaktree Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCSL. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 4.0% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,869,484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,202,000 after acquiring an additional 147,990 shares during the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the second quarter valued at about $29,549,160. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 28.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,195,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,216,000 after acquiring an additional 492,070 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,463,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,980,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation (NASDAQ: OCSL) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company invests primarily in privately negotiated loans and other debt instruments, seeking to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing.

Its investment portfolio generally includes first-lien and second-lien loans, unitranche facilities, subordinated debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments. Oaktree Specialty Lending works with companies across a range of industries and may provide capital for acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancing and other general corporate purposes.

The company is externally managed by Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm.