Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE:TSLX) Raises Dividend to $0.07 Per Share

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE: TSLX) made an announcement on Thursday, February 13th, regarding an increase in its quarterly dividend. Shareholders who are on record as of Friday, March 14th will receive a dividend of $0.07 per share. This payment will be made on Monday, March 31st. With this adjustment, the annualized dividend now stands at $0.28, providing a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is also set for Friday, March 14th. This is a notable increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.05 that the company issued.

The payout ratio for Sixth Street Specialty Lending is currently at 82.1%, suggesting that the company’s earnings cover the dividend for now. However, there could be concerns about the future sustainability of this ratio if the company’s earnings were to decline. Analysts project that Sixth Street Specialty Lending will earn approximately $2.22 per share next year, allowing for the possibility to maintain its annual dividend of $1.84 while slightly increasing the payout ratio to 82.9%.

Stock Performance

In trading on Friday, TSLX shares saw an increase of 2.2%, finishing at $22.97. There were over 730,751 shares traded, surpassing the average volume of 296,213 shares. The company's fifty-day moving average price is $21.54, while the 200-day moving average price is $21.00. Sixth Street Specialty Lending boasts a market capitalization of $2.14 billion and a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 11.15. The stock has experienced a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a high of $23.15. Additionally, the company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17 and current ratios of 2.50.

On the same day as announcing the dividend, Sixth Street Specialty Lending reported its quarterly earnings results. The financial services firm achieved earnings of $0.61 per share for the quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.57 by $0.04. The company exhibited a net margin of 39.05% and a return on equity of 13.55%. Furthermore, analysts expect Sixth Street Specialty Lending to report 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Outlook

Recent evaluations by equity analysts on TSLX shares have shown varied outlooks. For example, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods recently cut their price target from $23.00 to $21.50, maintaining an "outperform" rating on the stock. Similarly, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its "outperform" rating with a price objective of $23.00. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target from $21.00 to $23.00, also assigning an "overweight" rating. Conversely, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded the shares from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating. Currently, one analyst rates the stock as a hold while five others recommend it as a buy. MarketBeat.com indicates a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price averaging $22.33.

Overview of Sixth Street Specialty Lending

Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE: TSLX) is classified as a business development company. The firm primarily engages in providing various lending and investment solutions which include senior secured loans (first-lien, second-lien, and unitranche), unsecured loans, mezzanine debt, and corporate bond and equity securities. They focus on supporting companies through structured products and equity investments geared towards facilitating organic growth, acquisitions, market expansion, and refinancing initiatives.

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