Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus recommendation of Reduce for Oaktree Specialty Lending from six covering brokers (one sell, five hold) with an average 1‑year price target of about $12.17, and several firms (Weiss, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan) recently cut ratings or price targets.
• The firm pays a quarterly $0.40 dividend (annualized $1.60), implying a 12.9% yield, but the payout ratio is 444.44%, indicating significant sustainability risk.
• In the most recent quarter OCSL reported EPS of $0.41 (beating estimates by $0.03) while revenue of $74.48M slightly missed expectations; shares trade near $12.41 with a 1‑year range of $10.63–$14.90 and a market cap of about $1.09B.

Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.1667.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OCSL. Weiss Ratings lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $12.41 on Wednesday. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1-year low of $10.63 and a 1-year high of $14.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.62 and its 200-day moving average is $12.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 10.58%.The company had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. Oaktree Specialty Lending's payout ratio is currently 444.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,500 shares in the company, valued at $253,095. This represents a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the third quarter worth $42,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1,025.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,163 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation NASDAQ: OCSL is a closed-end, externally managed specialty finance company structured as a business development company (BDC). Launched in 2014, Oaktree Specialty Lending provides customized debt solutions to U.S. middle-market companies, with a focus on senior secured loans, second-lien financings, mezzanine debt and select equity co-investments. The company’s investment strategy centers on floating-rate instruments designed to offer downside protection and income potential in varying interest rate environments.

The firm’s portfolio spans a diverse array of industries, including healthcare, technology, energy, business services and consumer products.

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