Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Short Interest Up 124.1% in March

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, an increase of 124.1% from the February 28th total of 646,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 858,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OCSL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

OCSL opened at $15.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.88. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week high of $19.95.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) last issued 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 net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.32%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 238.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 3,026 shares during the period. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.