D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Invests $2.61 Million in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 170,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,611,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.21% of Oaktree Specialty Lending at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,129,202 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,534,000 after buying an additional 721,629 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,094,609 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,006,000 after buying an additional 71,808 shares during the period. Bruni J V & Co. Co. boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 1,929,491 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,483,000 after purchasing an additional 398,241 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,495,190 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $22,846,000 after purchasing an additional 13,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,109,000. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, insider Armen Panossian purchased 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $113,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 20,789 shares in the company, valued at $293,748.57. This represents a 62.55% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig A. Jacobson purchased 14,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $199,943.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 71,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $961,054.47. The trade was a 26.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Up 0.5%

OCSL stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.10. The company had a trading volume of 312,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,915. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a 52 week low of $12.50 and a 52 week high of $19.80. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.35 and a 200 day moving average of $15.25. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.06). Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $70.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio is 1,230.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on OCSL shares. B. Riley initiated coverage on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.83.

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.