Short Interest in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Declines By 29.3%

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 377,812 shares, a drop of 29.3% from the November 30th total of 534,367 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 242,377 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 242,377 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NCDL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

NYSE:NCDL traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $13.82. 472,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,984. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.36 and a 200 day moving average of $15.23. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $13.16 and a 1-year high of $18.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $682.57 million, a P/E ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 0.35.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $51.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. Research analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.0%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is 117.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $71,000.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,000. This represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth M. Miranda acquired 2,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $28,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 27,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,700. The trade was a 8.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 27,000 shares of company stock worth $383,600. 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 business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,073,000 after purchasing an additional 157,763 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $1,498,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 64.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 136,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,885,000 after buying an additional 53,342 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 418,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 50,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 492,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,791,000 after acquiring an additional 48,157 shares during the last quarter.

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.