Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Stock Price

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) had its target price lowered by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NCDL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Zacks Research raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NCDL stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $13.10. 35,739 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a twelve month low of $12.95 and a twelve month high of $17.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $646.97 million, a PE ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NCDL. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 181.2% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 26,885 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after buying an additional 709,727 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth approximately $936,000.

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.