Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 (NASDAQ:OCSL)

Oaktree Specialty Lending Co. (NASDAQ:OCSL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.55 per share by the credit services provider on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th.

Oaktree Specialty Lending has a payout ratio of 95.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Oaktree Specialty Lending to earn $2.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 97.8%.

Oaktree Specialty Lending Stock Performance

OCSL traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.68. 996,095 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 661,814. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.19 and its 200 day moving average is $17.50. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a 52 week low of $15.40 and a 52 week high of $21.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on OCSL. StockNews.com downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities downgraded Oaktree Specialty Lending from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Oaktree Specialty Lending in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Oaktree Specialty Lending from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.