Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.33.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

NASDAQ CGBD opened at $13.02 on Friday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a fifty-two week low of $11.55 and a fifty-two week high of $18.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $663.50 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.68.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%.The company had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.61 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is presently 135.59%.

Insider Activity at Carlyle Secured Lending

In related news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total value of $84,098.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,119.96. This trade represents a 48.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 82,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 20,549 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the first quarter valued at $307,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 2.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 184,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,385 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the first quarter worth $2,781,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $585,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc is business development company specializing in first lien debt, senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loan unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. It targets healthcare and pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, high tech industries, business services, software, beverage food and tobacco, hotel gamming and leisure, banking finance insurance and in real estate sector.