Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $19.83.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, posting earnings and revenue below Wall Street estimates, though analysts still expect $1.71 EPS for the current year.
• TSLX recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, equal to an annualized yield of roughly 9.8%, while a company insider also bought additional shares in May.

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.8333.

TSLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck bought 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $142,080.00. Following the purchase, the vice president owned 18,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $324,120. The trade was a 78.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 15,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the period. RMR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC now owns 252,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,647,000 after buying an additional 55,090 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 1st quarter valued at about $156,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,348,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 246,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,528,000 after buying an additional 15,629 shares during the period. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NYSE TSLX opened at $17.14 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $17.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.16. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $16.04 and a twelve month high of $25.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $103.14 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 25.25%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.8%. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's payout ratio is 146.09%.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc NYSE: TSLX is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. The fund primarily targets senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, second-lien financings and equity co-investment opportunities. By structuring tailored capital solutions, Sixth Street Specialty Lending seeks to support growth initiatives, recapitalizations and refinancings across a diverse set of industries, including technology, healthcare and business services.

As an affiliate of Sixth Street Partners, a global alternative investment firm, the company leverages the broader platform’s credit research, operational expertise and industry relationships.

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