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

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in 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 company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 763,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of OCSL traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $15.44. 483,411 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,246. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.48. 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 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week high of $21.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 1.07.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.25%. Oaktree Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is currently 305.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,407,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,958,000 after buying an additional 672,561 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth $6,598,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 148.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 408,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 243,963 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,849,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 7.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,022,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,567,000 after buying an additional 137,508 shares in the last quarter. 36.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OCSL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley cut shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities lowered Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oaktree Specialty Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.75.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

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.