Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Sets New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $22.48 and last traded at $22.47, with a volume of 238265 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.20.

The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 39.05% and a return on equity of 13.55%.

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 issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a yield of 7.59%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TSLX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $17,488,000. Columbus Macro LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth about $7,669,000. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,252,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,249,000 after buying an additional 215,996 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,175,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,131,000 after buying an additional 162,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 498.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 193,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 161,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Company Profile

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.