Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Short Interest Update

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,236,876 shares, a growth of 25.9% from the February 26th total of 6,540,916 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,676,736 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

TSLX stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.83. 519,304 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,018. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.40 and its 200 day moving average is $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $25.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.20). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 37.99% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.66%.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other news, VP Alan Waxman bought 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.47 per share, for a total transaction of $831,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 545,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,066,150. This represents a 9.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 545,000 shares of company stock worth $9,997,150 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 124,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after buying an additional 9,230 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 16,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 942,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,448,000 after buying an additional 4,638 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 10.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 485,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 44,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on TSLX. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sixth Street Specialty Lending has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.94.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

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.