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

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from nine analysts (6 buy, 2 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $21.94.
• Q4 results showed an EPS miss ($0.30 vs. $0.50 expected) with revenue roughly in line, and the firm cut its quarterly dividend to $0.01 (annualized $0.04), implying a 0.2% yield and a 101.66% payout ratio.
• Insider buying: VP Alan Waxman bought 45,000 shares at $18.47 on March 10, part of insiders purchasing 545,000 shares in the last 90 days; insiders own about 3.22% of the company.

Shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.9375.

TSLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Up 2.6%

Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock opened at $19.18 on Thursday. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $25.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.20). Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 37.99%.The company had revenue of $108.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's payout ratio is currently 101.66%.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Alan Waxman bought 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.47 per share, for a total transaction of $831,150.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 545,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,066,150. This trade represents a 9.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 545,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,997,150. 3.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the third quarter worth approximately $1,478,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 135,789 shares during the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,028,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,511,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,998,000 after acquiring an additional 108,708 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 174.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 44,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 28,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.25% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.