Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $13.02 and last traded at $12.9710, with a volume of 138781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NCDL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given 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 target price of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 1.9%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.69. The stock has a market cap of $646.52 million, a P/E ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.22 per share, with a total value of $284,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,223.74. This represents a 71.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $71,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $284,000. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 27,000 shares of company stock worth $383,600. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 196,956 shares during the period. Callodine Capital Management LP raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 572,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,905,000 after purchasing an additional 47,800 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 551,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,363,000 after buying an additional 26,454 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 479,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,395,000 after buying an additional 60,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 195,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 12,224 shares during the period.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

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.