Short Interest in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Drops By 28.3%

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a decrease of 28.3% from the March 15th total of 1,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 824,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCSL traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.35. 810,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 748,289. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $12.50 and a 1 year high of $19.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.24 and its 200-day moving average is $15.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The firm had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.93 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.81%.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OCSL. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 21.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 54,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 9,495 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth approximately $175,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 2.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,598,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 130,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oaktree Specialty Lending has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.42.

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.