Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Share Price Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• TSLX shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $16.90 and last changing hands near $17.05, down about 3%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and three a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $19.83.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while maintaining a $0.42 quarterly dividend that implies a 9.9% annualized yield; institutional investors own 70.25% of the shares.

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $17.84 and traded as low as $16.90. Sixth Street Specialty Lending shares last traded at $17.0480, with a volume of 882,745 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on TSLX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $17.50 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 9.83, a current ratio of 9.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.84.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $97.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.28 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 21.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's payout ratio is presently 176.84%.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,434,000. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,347,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,551 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,552,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,837,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,526,000. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company's stock.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc NYSE: TSLX is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to established middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately originated debt, including first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien loans, subordinated debt and other credit investments. It may also make select equity investments in connection with its lending activities.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending generally focuses on companies with experienced management teams, strong market positions and established operating histories.

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