Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Director James Joseph Ritchie Acquires 17,857 Shares of Stock

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Director James Joseph Ritchie acquired 17,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,026.03. This trade represents a 29.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE NCDL traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.21. 14,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 271,038. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $652.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.17. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a one year low of $12.54 and a one year high of $17.59.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $26.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. On average, analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is currently 137.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NCDL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.40.

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.