Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NCDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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 decreased their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 2.1%

NCDL opened at $14.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $692.94 million, a P/E ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.35. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $18.01.

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

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is presently 117.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $71,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the treasurer directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,000. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.22 per share, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,223.74. The trade was a 71.13% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 27,000 shares of company stock worth $383,600 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns through a diversified portfolio of direct lending instruments. Established in early 2022, NCDL focuses on privately negotiated debt investments in middle-market companies, primarily within the United States. The fund offers investors access to a segment of the credit markets that has historically been less correlated with public debt markets, aiming to capture yield premiums associated with private lending.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on senior secured loans, unitranche financings and selectively structured mezzanine debt.