D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires New Stake 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) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 approximately 0.21% of Oaktree Specialty Lending as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson acquired 14,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $199,943.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,054.47. This represents a 26.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Armen Panossian acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $113,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,789 shares in the company, valued at $293,748.57. The trade was a 62.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $14.03. 271,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.74. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $14.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.28. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a 52-week low of $12.50 and a 52-week high of $19.80.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $70.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.67 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.40%. Oaktree Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,230.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.