Short Interest in Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Expands By 21.3%

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 883,000 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the October 31st total of 728,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 305,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on TSLX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $21.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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 research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TSLX traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.61. 232,303 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,416. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 1 year low of $19.50 and a 1 year high of $22.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.54 and a 200 day moving average of $20.98.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. The company had revenue of $119.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.85 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a net margin of 39.05% and a return on equity of 13.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 89.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLX. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 378.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. 70.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.