Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Upgraded 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 issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NCDL. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell 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 $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Up 2.6%

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $12.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $614.61 million, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.51. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $11.97 and a 12 month high of $17.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.25.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The firm had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.79 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.6%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Marissa Hassen bought 3,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,193.80. This trade represents a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Mccally purchased 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.27 per share, with a total value of $99,525.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 15,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,301.15. The trade was a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCDL. Centurion Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,879,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.9% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 12,646 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 23.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 27,970 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 28.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 152,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 33,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 53,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 8,932 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.