Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

A number of research firms have commented on CGBD. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending stock opened at $10.04 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $697.78 million, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.62. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12 month low of $9.98 and a 12 month high of $14.32.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $64.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.78 million. As a group, analysts predict that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.9%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is currently 197.18%.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGBD. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,740,000 after buying an additional 699,586 shares during the last quarter. North Ground Capital increased its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 912,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,394,000 after acquiring an additional 436,086 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 901,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,265,000 after acquiring an additional 121,651 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 862,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,770,000 after acquiring an additional 226,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 736,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,198,000 after purchasing an additional 236,524 shares during the last quarter. 24.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.