Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on OCSL. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCSL opened at $11.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.97. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a fifty-two week low of $10.63 and a fifty-two week high of $14.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $69.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.35 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is presently 210.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCSL. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 43,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Security National Bank now owns 4,607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 332,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 118.3% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.