StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Down 1.2 %

TSLX stock opened at $17.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a twelve month low of $16.02 and a twelve month high of $23.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $309.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.08 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a yield of 9.4%. This is a positive change from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous Variable dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.29%.

Insider Activity at Sixth Street Specialty Lending

In other news, insider Michael Graf acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.55 per share, for a total transaction of $37,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,100. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Hurley Doddy bought 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.51 per share, for a total transaction of $50,779.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $266,869.91. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Graf bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.55 per share, for a total transaction of $37,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,100. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

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Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc engages in the provision of financing solutions. It invests in first-lien debt, second-lien debt, mezzanine and unsecured debt or equity or other securities issued by middle-market companies. The company is founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, NY.