Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $2.84 Million in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 186,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,843,000. Sovran Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Oaktree Specialty Lending at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,129,202 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,534,000 after acquiring an additional 721,629 shares during the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,598,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 148.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 408,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after buying an additional 243,963 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,849,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,022,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,567,000 after buying an additional 137,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on OCSL shares. Citizens Jmp lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL stock opened at $15.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.12. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a 52 week low of $14.89 and a 52 week high of $20.43.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 328.36%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.