Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Short Interest Up 17.7% in April

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,396,986 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the March 31st total of 2,885,480 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,318,680 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.77 per share, with a total value of $26,925.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $253,095. The trade was a 11.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bruni J V & Co. Co. grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.4% during the third quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 2,487,019 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,456,000 after purchasing an additional 274,667 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.6% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 2,087,981 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,248,000 after purchasing an additional 199,415 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 25.2% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,014,163 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,335,000 after purchasing an additional 607,493 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 102.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 267,909 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 135,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 6.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,173,257 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $28,361,000 after acquiring an additional 134,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company's stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of OCSL opened at $12.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $11.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $10.63 and a twelve month high of $14.77.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $74.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.72 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 9.75%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 444.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on OCSL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.50 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.17.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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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