Short Interest in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Increases By 287.5%

Key Points

• Short interest in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE: TSLX) rose by 287.5% in July, totaling 2,870,000 shares, which corresponds to a short-interest ratio of 5.9 days.
• Research analysts have mixed outlooks, with price targets ranging from $21.50 to $24.00 and an average target price of $23.06, while maintaining an average rating of "Buy".
• The company recently announced a $0.46 dividend for shareholders, a significant increase from the previous $0.06 dividend, representing a yield of 770.0%.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,870,000 shares, agrowthof287.5% from the June 30th total of 740,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 485,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 485,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE TSLX traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.90. The stock had a trading volume of 165,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,963. The company has a quick ratio of 3.79, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $18.58 and a twelve month high of $25.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.53.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 39.56%. The business had revenue of $115.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a yield of 770.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous -- dividend of $0.06. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $23.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSLX. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the first quarter worth approximately $79,698,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $17,488,000. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $13,545,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 382.4% in the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 446,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,003,000 after acquiring an additional 354,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the second quarter valued at about $7,719,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc NYSE: TSLX is a business development company. The fund provides senior secured loans (first-lien, second-lien, and unitranche), unsecured loans, mezzanine debt, and investments in corporate bonds and equity securities and structured products, non-control structured equity, and common equity with a focus on co-investments for organic growth, acquisitions, market or product expansion, restructuring initiatives, recapitalizations, and refinancing.