Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $16.96 and last traded at $17.1660, with a volume of 277411 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TSLX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.01. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $93.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.14 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 25.25%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.8%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 160.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In related news, VP Alan Waxman purchased 200,000 shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,636,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,090,000. The trade was a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ross Anthony Bruck purchased 8,000 shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 18,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,120. This represents a 78.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 553,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,139,230 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at $1,478,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,511,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,998,000 after buying an additional 108,708 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 18.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,529,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,817,000 after buying an additional 385,398 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 617,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,412,000 after buying an additional 58,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at $4,129,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.