Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.71, but opened at $12.28. Carlyle Secured Lending shares last traded at $12.49, with a volume of 127,026 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGBD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.33.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $635.18 million, a P/E ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.61 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%. On average, equities analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total transaction of $84,098.95. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,119.96. The trade was a 48.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.