Insider Buying: Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Treasurer Buys $65,650.00 in Stock

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $65,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,250. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NCDL opened at $13.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.54 and a 12-month high of $17.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $652.74 million, a P/E ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on NCDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 839,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,194,000 after buying an additional 106,610 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,902,000 after acquiring an additional 709,727 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,192,000 after acquiring an additional 196,956 shares in the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP boosted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 9.1% during the third quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 572,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,905,000 after purchasing an additional 47,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,374,000.

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.