Gabelli Funds LLC Has $382,000 Stock Position in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. $OCSL

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC sharply reduced its Oaktree Specialty Lending stake by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 145,000 shares and leaving it with 30,000 shares worth about $382,000.
• Analyst sentiment on OCSL is mixed but cautious, with several firms recently downgrading or trimming price targets; the stock’s consensus rating remains Hold with an average price target of $11.83.
• Oaktree Specialty Lending reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating estimates, and it announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend that annualizes to a 10.2% yield.

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Free Report) by 82.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 145,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruni J V & Co. Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $32,456,000 after purchasing an additional 274,667 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $39,335,000 after purchasing an additional 607,493 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,173,257 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $28,361,000 after purchasing an additional 134,557 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 267,909 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 135,662 shares during the period. Finally, Melia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 1,215,842 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $15,867,000 after purchasing an additional 225,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OCSL. Weiss Ratings raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock opened at $11.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.52. Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. has a 12 month low of $10.63 and a 12 month high of $14.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.45.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.35 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 16.66%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Oaktree Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 280.70%.

Insider Transactions at Oaktree Specialty Lending

In other news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.77 per share, for a total transaction of $26,925.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $253,095. This trade represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.