Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Share Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• TSLX shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $17.40 versus a 200-day average of $20.06, with the stock last changing hands around $17.47.
• Analyst sentiment has turned more cautious after several firms cut price targets and ratings, though the stock still carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.83.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend sharply to $0.42 per share, implying a 9.6% annualized yield, even as its latest earnings and revenue came in below Wall Street expectations.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $20.06 and traded as low as $17.40. Sixth Street Specialty Lending shares last traded at $17.4660, with a volume of 654,975 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.83.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.65. 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 quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.6%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending's payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck purchased 8,000 shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.76 per share, with a total value of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 18,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $324,120. This trade represents a 78.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Alan Waxman bought 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,636,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,090,000. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 553,000 shares of company stock worth $10,139,230. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TSLX. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $98,000. 70.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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