Oaktree Specialty Loans (NASDAQ:OCSL – Get A Note) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released Friday.

Separately, Hovde Group reduced its price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending to $7.00 in a Friday, May 20 research report.

Oaktree Specialty Loan Price Performance

Shares of OCSL rose $0.06 during Friday trading hours, hitting $7.07. The stock had trading volume of 674,479 shares, compared to an average volume of 1,099,764. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $7.81 . The company has a debt ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $6.74 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $7.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.25.

Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL – Get Rating) last reported results on Thursday, May 5. The credit service provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.18 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.01. Oaktree Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 53.18%. The company posted revenue of $64.30 million for the quarter, compared to $58.95 million expected by analysts. Equity analysts expect Oaktree Specialty Lending to post EPS of 0.72 for the current year.

Insider buying and selling

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Separately, Chairman Mathew Pendo purchased 18,381 shares in a transaction that took place on Monday, May 9. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.06 per share, for a total transaction of $129,769.86. Following completion of the transaction, the President now directly owns 103,591 shares of the company, valued at $731,352.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Oaktree Specialty Lending news, Chairman Mathew Pendo purchased 18,381 shares of the company in a trade dated Monday, May 9. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.06 per share, for a total transaction of $129,769.86. Following completion of the transaction, the president now owns 103,591 shares of the company, valued at $731,352.46. The acquisition was disclosed in an SEC filing, which is available via this link. Additionally, director Phyllis R. Caldwell purchased 5,000 shares of the company in a transaction dated Monday, May 23. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.80 per share, with a total value of $34,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,700 shares of the company, valued at approximately $86,360. Disclosure of this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 30,881 shares of the company worth $215,195 over the past three months. 0.32% of the shares are held by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oaktree Specialty Loans

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently changed their positions in the company. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending during the first quarter at a value of $56,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending by 352.3% during the second quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 8,634 shares of the credit service provider valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stock position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the second quarter for $76,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stock position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the second quarter for $87,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stock position in Oaktree Specialty Lending during the first quarter at a value of $98,000. 65.27% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors.

About Oaktree Specialty Loans

(Get a rating)

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company specializing in middle market investments, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loans, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt , expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred stock and management buy-outs in small and medium-sized businesses.

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