Altshuler Shaham Ltd Buys New Position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. $TSLX

Key Points

• Altshuler Shaham Ltd opened a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter, buying 301,460 shares worth about $6.55 million. Institutional ownership remains high, with about 70.25% of the stock held by institutions.
• Sixth Street Specialty Lending reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.42 versus the $0.49 consensus and revenue of $93.4 million versus expectations of $103.14 million. The stock was trading down slightly and recently opened near its 1-year low.
• The company announced a much larger quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, raising the annualized payout to $1.68 and implying a 10.2% yield. This is a sharp increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.01, though the payout ratio is elevated at 146.09%.

Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 301,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,548,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd owned approximately 0.32% of Sixth Street Specialty Lending as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 42,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 21,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock opened at $16.49 on Thursday. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.37 and a 1 year high of $25.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.07). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $103.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.2%. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's payout ratio is 146.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TSLX shares. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.83.

Insider Activity

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $142,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 18,250 shares in the company, valued at $324,120. This trade represents a 78.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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