Zacks Research Upgrades Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) from “strong sell” to “hold”, though the broader analyst view remains only moderately positive with a consensus target price of $19.67.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.42 per share versus expectations for $0.49 and revenue of $93.4 million versus estimates of $103.14 million.
• Shares opened at $16.90, near the stock’s 52-week low of $16.04, while insider buying and recent institutional accumulation suggest some investor confidence in the name.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TSLX. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.67.

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Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TSLX opened at $16.90 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 has a 52-week low of $16.04 and a 52-week high of $25.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $93.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.14 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 11.92%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other Sixth Street Specialty Lending news, VP Ross Anthony Bruck bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.76 per share, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 18,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $324,120. This trade represents a 78.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TSLX. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 161.3% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 22,356 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 211,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,639,000 after buying an additional 4,164 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 15,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the period. RMR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC now owns 252,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,647,000 after buying an additional 55,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $156,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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