Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 44,483 Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Free Report) by 25.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 44,483 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Oaktree Specialty Lending worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Claret Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,910 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $701,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,539 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 13,626 shares during the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OCSL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.83.

Insider Activity

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Craig A. Jacobson purchased 14,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $199,943.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 71,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,054.47. This trade represents a 26.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Armen Panossian acquired 8,000 shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

NASDAQ OCSL traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.33. The company had a trading volume of 490,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,881. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.15. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a twelve month low of $12.50 and a twelve month high of $19.80.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $70.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.67 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.17%. Oaktree Specialty Lending's payout ratio is 1,230.77%.

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.