Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $22.48 and last traded at $22.47, with a volume of 238265 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.20.

The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 39.05%.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 113,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the third quarter valued at about $196,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 26.8% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 5,398 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 50.8% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 26,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 16.4% during the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 18,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the period. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.06.

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.