Blue Trust Inc. Buys 21,854 Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) by 84.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,854 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Oaktree Specialty Lending were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,094,609 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,006,000 after purchasing an additional 71,808 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,843,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 35,851 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 225,306 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after acquiring an additional 24,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $311,000. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on OCSL shares. B. Riley lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $15.78 on Monday. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a 12-month low of $14.89 and a 12-month high of $20.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.14%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.81%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Company Profile

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company. The fund specializing in investments in middle market, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loan, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt, expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred equity, and management buyouts in small and mid-sized companies.