Short Interest in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Declines By 16.0%
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemOaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL – Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,885,480 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the March 15th total of 3,436,257 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 823,003 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,335,000 after acquiring an additional 607,493 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 298.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 626,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,556,000 after acquiring an additional 469,328 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,333,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,991,000 after acquiring an additional 429,303 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,841,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,456,000 after acquiring an additional 274,667 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance
Shares of OCSL stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,976,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,647. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a one year low of $10.63 and a one year high of $14.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.63.
Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.The business had revenue of $74.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.
Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 444.44%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
OCSL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.17.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on OCSL
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.