Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $12.43 and last traded at $12.4150, with a volume of 109812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NCDL shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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. 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 report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.15.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.62. The company has a market capitalization of $609.97 million, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 29.56%.The company had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.79 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marissa Hassen bought 3,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.20 per share, for a total transaction of $66,000.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 30,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,306. This represents a 19.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter worth approximately $108,000.

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.