Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.75.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NCDL. Wall Street Zen lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of NCDL opened at $14.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $13.16 and a 1-year high of $18.01. The stock has a market cap of $707.96 million, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.38.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company had revenue of $51.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.65%.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction of $74,250.00. Following the acquisition, the treasurer owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,750. This represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel purchased 20,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.22 per share, with a total value of $284,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 48,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,223.74. The trade was a 71.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at about $85,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter valued at about $108,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $152,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $135,000.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. It has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is based in NEW YORK.