Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Director John Nestor Sells 4,401 Shares

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Director John Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $49,687.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,275.64. This represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of CGBD opened at $10.87 on Tuesday. Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.61 and a 1-year high of $17.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.70.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $66.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.26 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 27.38%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.7%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 156.86%.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter worth $37,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGBD has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.60.

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.