Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 23.98% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $43.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.72 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s conference call:

• Adjusted net investment income of $0.39 per share exceeded the regular $0.36 distribution, and the board declared a $0.38 per-share fourth-quarter payout, including a $0.02 supplemental distribution.
• Investment activity rebounded sharply, with $213.3 million of gross originations, while the new joint venture generated a 13.6% annualized return and is expected to ramp toward approximately $300 million of investments over the coming quarters.
• Portfolio credit metrics remained broadly stable, with 5.2x net leverage, 2.3x interest coverage, and non-accruals at 1.5% of fair value; however, the watch list increased to 11.6% from 10.8%.
• Net asset value declined modestly to $17.13 per share from $17.19, while third-quarter GAAP net income included $0.06 per share of net realized and unrealized losses, primarily from restructuring two underperforming debt positions.
• NCDL reduced gross leverage to 1.23x debt-to-equity, completed a $100 million unsecured-notes tap, and began repurchasing shares under its $50 million program at an average price of about $10.76, which management characterized as a meaningful discount to NAV.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $11.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 127,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,922. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $10.31 and a 52-week high of $15.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.72. The company has a market capitalization of $587.21 million, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This is a drop from Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 161.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NCDL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $14.75 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE: NCDL) is a closed-end investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company. The company provides financing to privately owned, primarily U.S.-based middle-market businesses.

NCDL invests mainly in senior secured loans and other debt investments, with a focus on companies that may have limited access to traditional bank financing. Its portfolio may also include unitranche loans, subordinated debt and, to a lesser extent, equity or equity-related investments.