LSV Asset Management Sells 181,500 Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. $TSLX

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management cut its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 181,500 shares and leaving it with 791,212 shares valued at about $17.2 million.
• The company reported Q1 earnings below expectations, posting EPS of $0.42 versus the $0.49 consensus and revenue of $93.4 million versus the expected $103.14 million.
• Sixth Street Specialty Lending boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, implying a 9.8% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $19.83.

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 181,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.84% of Sixth Street Specialty Lending worth $17,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth about $79,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of TSLX opened at $17.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.95. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.96 and a twelve month high of $25.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $93.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.14 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 25.25%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 160.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.83.

Insider Activity

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck purchased 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 18,250 shares in the company, valued at $324,120. The trade was a 78.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Alan Waxman acquired 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,636,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,090,000. The trade was a 66.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 553,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,139,230. 3.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Profile

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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