Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) Sets New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s payout ratio is 89.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,488,000. Columbus Macro LLC acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the 4th quarter worth $7,669,000. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,252,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,249,000 after buying an additional 215,996 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 498.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 193,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 161,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

About Sixth Street Specialty Lending

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.