Franklin Resources Inc. Has $6.75 Million Stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX - Free Report) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 72,133 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.35% of Sixth Street Specialty Lending worth $6,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 36,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 17,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 29,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 10.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TSLX. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Sixth Street Specialty Lending currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

NYSE TSLX traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $20.93. 310,659 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 346,919. Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.50 and a 12 month high of $22.35. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $20.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 39.05%. The business had revenue of $119.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.85 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders 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 89.32%.

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.