Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. $TSLX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group increased its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) by 11.8% in Q4 to 741,125 shares—about 0.78% ownership valued at $16.1 million.
• Insiders are buying: VP Alan Waxman purchased 200,000 shares at $18.18 on March 9 (raising his stake to 500,000), and insiders bought 545,000 shares (~$10.0M) in the past three months, bringing insider ownership to 3.22%.
• Mixed fundamentals: TSLX missed Q4 EPS ($0.30 vs. $0.50 expected) and cut its quarterly dividend to $0.01 (annualized $0.04, 0.2% yield); the stock trades at a P/E of 10.72 with a market cap of ~$1.84B and a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" (avg target $21.94).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 741,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 78,229 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.78% of Sixth Street Specialty Lending worth $16,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter worth about $79,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 604.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In related news, VP Alan Waxman purchased 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $3,636,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 500,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,090,000. This represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders purchased 545,000 shares of company stock worth $9,997,150. Corporate insiders own 3.22% of the company's stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE TSLX opened at $19.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.99 and a 1 year high of $25.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $18.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.66.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.20). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 37.99% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio is 101.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.94.

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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