Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the April 30th total of 1,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 508,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of TSLX stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $23.28. 427,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 370,249. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.82. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $18.58 and a 12-month high of $23.67. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.68.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 38.67%. The firm had revenue of $113.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.21%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.35%.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 1st quarter valued at about $79,698,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,393,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,972,000 after acquiring an additional 103,634 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,390,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,921,000 after acquiring an additional 137,906 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,361,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,842,000 after purchasing an additional 55,767 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 7.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,347,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,527,000 after purchasing an additional 154,560 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. B. Riley assumed coverage on 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $22.81.

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.