Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Down 1.3 %

Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $13.42 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.46. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a fifty-two week low of $12.50 and a fifty-two week high of $19.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $70.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.92%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,230.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OCSL. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 36,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 27,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 14.6% during the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company. The fund specializing in investments in middle market, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loan, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt, expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred equity, and management buyouts in small and mid-sized companies.