Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Stock Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• TSLX shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $17.91 before closing at $18.06. The stock’s 50-day average was $18.10, while its 200-day average stood at $17.89.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with five Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $19.83.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.43 in EPS and $97.84 million in revenue. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 9.3% annualized yield.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.10 and traded as low as $17.91. Sixth Street Specialty Lending shares last traded at $18.06, with a volume of 350,485 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TSLX. Zacks Research upgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $17.50 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 9.83, a quick ratio of 9.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.61.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 21.79%.The company had revenue of $97.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 176.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the second quarter valued at $200,000. Ehrenkranz Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ehrenkranz Partners L.P. now owns 43,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 5,541 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 305,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 71,693 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 33,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 34,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,026 shares during the period. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc NYSE: TSLX is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately negotiated loans and other debt investments, seeking to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing or public capital markets.

Its investment portfolio generally includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments.

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