Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NCDL. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.75 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $13.26 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.91 million, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.63. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $12.43 and a 12 month high of $17.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.79 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 29.56%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, insider Jason Strife bought 7,690 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.40 per share, for a total transaction of $103,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,737 shares in the company, valued at $210,875.80. This represents a 95.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie purchased 17,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the purchase, the director owned 78,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,026.03. The trade was a 29.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 47,547 shares of company stock valued at $635,105 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter worth about $152,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 17.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 36,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,391 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 25,106 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.