Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 24.44%.The company had revenue of $11.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.72 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s conference call:

• Net investment income of $0.41 per share covered the $0.36 base dividend, and the board declared a third-quarter distribution of $0.38 per share, including a $0.02 supplemental payment.
• NAV declined 1.8% to $17.19 per share, driven by realized and unrealized losses tied primarily to amendments involving two underperforming investments. Four additional companies were placed on non-accrual, bringing non-accruals to 2.7% of investments at cost and 1.5% at fair value.
• NCDL’s gross originations fell sharply to $12.1 million from $82.9 million in the prior quarter as management managed leverage and private-equity deal activity slowed, although executives said transaction activity improved in June and July.
• NCDL launched a joint venture with an institutional investor, initially contributing a $150 million portfolio and targeting approximately $300 million of assets within 12 months. Management expects the vehicle’s leverage and senior-loan strategy to generate accretive returns and expand deployment capacity.
• The portfolio remained highly diversified across 244 companies, with 89.6% allocated to first-lien loans and only 2.4% exposure to software, while leverage was 1.29x gross and interest coverage was 2.5x.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.86. 187,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,508. The stock has a market cap of $635.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.51. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $11.97 and a 52 week high of $16.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.60 and its 200-day moving average is $13.18.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 120.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NCDL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, VP John Mccally purchased 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.27 per share, for a total transaction of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,301.15. The trade was a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen purchased 3,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the completion of 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. Insiders bought 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth about $108,000.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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.