Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 71,808 Shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,094,609 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,808 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 2.55% of Oaktree Specialty Lending worth $32,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,129,202 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,534,000 after purchasing an additional 721,629 shares in the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 1,531,250 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $24,975,000 after buying an additional 19,790 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Oaktree Specialty Lending by 7.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 583,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,515,000 after buying an additional 40,641 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $6,664,000 after buying an additional 243,963 shares during the period. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the third quarter worth $6,598,000. 36.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCSL traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.95. 356,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,577. Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.89 and a fifty-two week high of $20.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.04.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54. The business had revenue of $86.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.93 million. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.03%. Oaktree Specialty Lending's payout ratio is 328.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OCSL shares. B. Riley lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JMP Securities downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price target (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.