Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Short Interest Down 17.2% in May

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the April 30th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 843,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Armen Panossian acquired 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.13 per share, for a total transaction of $113,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 20,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,748.57. The trade was a 62.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig A. Jacobson bought 14,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $199,943.10. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 71,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $961,054.47. This represents a 26.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OCSL. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 37,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 9,207 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,129,202 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,534,000 after purchasing an additional 721,629 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Institutional investors own 36.79% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

OCSL traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 490,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,272. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39 and a beta of 0.71. Oaktree Specialty Lending 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 (EPS) 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 return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OCSL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.