Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,436,257 shares, a growth of 42.0% from the February 26th total of 2,419,269 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 884,462 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCSL has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.88.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:OCSL traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 593,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 860,544. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $963.70 million, a P/E ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.78. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $10.63 and a twelve month high of $15.69.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 14.6%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 444.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,335,000 after buying an additional 607,493 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after buying an additional 469,328 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,991,000 after acquiring an additional 429,303 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $4,841,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% during the third quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,456,000 after acquiring an additional 274,667 shares during the period. 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 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.