Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $12.09 and last traded at $12.1050, with a volume of 60062 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NCDL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 0.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.33 and a 200-day moving average of $13.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $598.61 million, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.50.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $17.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.79 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.00%.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.20 per share, with a total value of $66,000.00. Following the purchase, the treasurer directly owned 30,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $405,306. The trade was a 19.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen bought 3,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,193.80. This represents a 63.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 23.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 27,970 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 152,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 33,918 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 53,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 8,932 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 89,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 59,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bulldog Investors LLP raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 224,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after buying an additional 51,410 shares during the period.

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.