Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 17.5% from the February 13th total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 372,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 378.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TSLX traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 249,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,409. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.08. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a one year low of $19.50 and a one year high of $23.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.33.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $123.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.07 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 38.67%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 6.99%. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous dividend of $0.05. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.50 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sixth Street Specialty Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.07.

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.