Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the February 28th total of 1,340,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 387,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:TSLX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.29. The company had a trading volume of 310,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,295. Sixth Street Specialty Lending has a 12-month low of $19.50 and a 12-month high of $23.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.42.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $123.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.07 million. Sixth Street Specialty Lending had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 38.67%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sixth Street Specialty Lending Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 6.99%. This is a boost from Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s previous dividend of $0.05. Sixth Street Specialty Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.64%.

Institutional Trading of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TSLX. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Sixth Street Specialty Lending during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 378.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Sixth Street Specialty Lending from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $22.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Sixth Street Specialty Lending from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sixth Street Specialty Lending currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.17.

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.