UBS Group AG Raises Holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. $TSLX

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 299,564 shares and bringing its total holding to 1.62 million shares worth about $35.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still generally constructive: several firms cut price targets, yet most maintained buy/outperform ratings, leaving the consensus view at a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $20.29.
• The company recently boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share from $0.01, implying a 9.3% annualized yield, even as its latest earnings missed estimates on both EPS and revenue.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,616,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 299,564 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 1.71% of Sixth Street Specialty Lending worth $35,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TSLX. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,529,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,817,000 after buying an additional 385,398 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 992,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,566,000 after acquiring an additional 245,940 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,129,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 662,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,154,000 after acquiring an additional 135,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 185.6% in the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 190,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,531,000 after purchasing an additional 123,682 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.29.

Key Sixth Street Specialty Lending News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sixth Street Specialty Lending this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TSLX priced a $300 million offering of 5.650% unsecured notes due 2031, with proceeds expected to be used to pay down existing debt. The move may improve its liability profile and support balance-sheet flexibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms still see upside despite trimming targets: RBC kept an outperform rating, KBW maintained outperform, Truist kept a buy rating, and Wells Fargo kept overweight. These reports suggest analysts still view TSLX as undervalued even after lowering price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Q1 earnings call highlighted both a net asset value hit and some upside, suggesting investors are still digesting mixed fundamentals rather than reacting to one clear surprise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target on TSLX to $17.50 and maintained a neutral rating, while other firms also reduced targets. The lower estimates likely added pressure to the stock and reflect more cautious near-term expectations.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Alan Waxman acquired 200,000 shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $3,636,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 500,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,090,000. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 545,000 shares of company stock worth $9,997,150. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NYSE TSLX opened at $17.99 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $18.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.36. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.99 and a fifty-two week high of $25.17. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.39.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 160.00%.

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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