Short Interest in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Drops By 38.1%

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) saw a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 471,830 shares, a decrease of 38.1% from the December 31st total of 762,848 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 251,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 251,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of NCDL traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.51. 247,585 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,801. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $667.26 million, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.73. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a one year low of $13.03 and a one year high of $18.01.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $51.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NCDL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Director Kenneth M. Miranda bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $28,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,700. The trade was a 8.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $71,000.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,000. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 27,000 shares of company stock valued at $383,600. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NCDL. Tranquility Partners LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 84,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 11,510 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth $173,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 100.0% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 16,408 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at $773,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 12.2% in the second quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 22,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares in the last quarter.

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.