538,318 Shares in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) Purchased by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 538,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,225,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 29,502 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 116,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 15,673 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $1,051,000. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:OCSL opened at $15.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.94. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06 and a beta of 1.05. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week 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.

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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 238.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OCSL. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.75.

Oaktree Specialty Lending 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.