Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.43 and last traded at $22.39, with a volume of 235994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.95.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The firm had revenue of $119.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.85 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 39.05% and a return on equity of 13.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 7.59%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth $559,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 392,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,359,000 after purchasing an additional 26,008 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $329,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter valued at about $392,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

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.