Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Oaktree Specialty Lending shares rose 2.8% and briefly reached $12.13, moving above the 200-day moving average of $12.08.
• Analysts remain cautious: seven rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $11.83.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.37, slightly exceeding estimates, but cut its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.03 per share, implying a 1.0% annualized yield.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $12.08 and traded as high as $12.13. Oaktree Specialty Lending shares last traded at $12.13, with a volume of 378,854 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Monday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.83.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $69.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.40 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 9.70%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a decrease from Oaktree Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Oaktree Specialty Lending's payout ratio is 250.00%.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 43,702 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,552 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,660 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation NASDAQ: OCSL is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately held businesses through senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche loans, and may also make subordinated debt and equity investments.

OCSL seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by partnering with companies across a range of industries. Its investments generally support acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives and other corporate purposes.

The company is externally managed by Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment management firm.

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