Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) from $20 to $19 but kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 6.95% upside from the current price.
• Analyst views are mixed: several firms have trimmed targets or ratings (Weiss, JPMorgan, Citizens, Truist), yet the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $21.50.
• Operational and market signals: TSLX traded at $17.77 (down 0.8%), missed Q1 estimates with $0.42 EPS vs. $0.49 expected and lower revenue, while insiders increased stakes (VP bought 45,000 shares).

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $19.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 6.95% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on TSLX. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.50.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of TSLX stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.77. 288,156 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,334. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.39. 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 has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $25.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.65.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $93.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.14 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 11.79%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Alan Waxman purchased 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.47 per share, for a total transaction of $831,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 545,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,066,150. The trade was a 9.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 545,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,997,150 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 673.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 1st quarter worth about $63,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.25% of the company's stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

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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