Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment on Sixth Street Specialty Lending is mixed but still constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from nine covering firms and an average 1-year price target of about $20.29.
• Several analysts recently trimmed price targets, including JPMorgan, RBC, Wells Fargo, and Citizens JMP, though multiple firms still kept bullish ratings such as outperform, buy, or overweight.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, implying a 9.3% annualized yield, while also pricing a $300 million unsecured note offering to help pay down debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.2857.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TSLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Key Sixth Street Specialty Lending News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sixth Street Specialty Lending this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TSLX priced a $300 million offering of 5.650% unsecured notes due 2031, with proceeds expected to be used to pay down existing debt. The move may improve its liability profile and support balance-sheet flexibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms still see upside despite trimming targets: RBC kept an outperform rating, KBW maintained outperform, Truist kept a buy rating, and Wells Fargo kept overweight. These reports suggest analysts still view TSLX as undervalued even after lowering price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Q1 earnings call highlighted both a net asset value hit and some upside, suggesting investors are still digesting mixed fundamentals rather than reacting to one clear surprise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target on TSLX to $17.50 and maintained a neutral rating, while other firms also reduced targets. The lower estimates likely added pressure to the stock and reflect more cautious near-term expectations.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Alan Waxman purchased 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $3,636,000.00. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,090,000. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 545,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,997,150. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter valued at $1,478,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,511,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,998,000 after buying an additional 108,708 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 25.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 662,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,154,000 after buying an additional 135,789 shares in the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter valued at $1,028,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 18.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,529,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,817,000 after buying an additional 385,398 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of TSLX opened at $17.99 on Monday. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 52-week low of $16.99 and a 52-week high of $25.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.36. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.07). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 25.25%.The company had revenue of $93.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

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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