Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.40.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Up 1.4%

NCDL opened at $14.44 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $12.43 and a 52 week high of $17.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.80. The firm has a market cap of $713.19 million, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $26.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $65,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,250. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie bought 17,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 78,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,072,026.03. This trade represents a 29.60% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 47,547 shares of company stock valued at $635,105. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second 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 period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $85,000.

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.