Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Short Interest Down 26.5% in December

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 689,200 shares, a decrease of 26.5% from the December 15th total of 938,200 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 763,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on OCSL shares. Citizens Jmp downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oaktree Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 601.4% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 208.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 8,255 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 5,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at about $175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.79% of the company’s stock.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Price Performance

OCSL stock opened at $15.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $14.89 and a 12-month high of $21.64.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 305.56%.

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.