Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NCDL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.40.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NCDL opened at $13.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.18. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $12.54 and a fifty-two week high of $17.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 31.57%.The company had revenue of $26.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.60 million. As a group, analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Mccally purchased 2,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.30 per share, for a total transaction of $26,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,819. This represents a 36.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth M. Miranda acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.83 per share, for a total transaction of $38,490.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $384,900. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 24,690 shares of company stock valued at $324,636 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.7% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 27,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 114,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter.

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.