Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.50.

CGBD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 34,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CGBD opened at $10.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 52-week low of $10.27 and a 52-week high of $14.49. The company has a market cap of $722.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 19.52%.The company had revenue of $64.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.78 million. Analysts predict that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 197.18%.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.