Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.4375.

Several research analysts have recently commented on NCDL shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NCDL stock opened at $12.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.50. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a one year low of $11.97 and a one year high of $17.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.48.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced 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 net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The firm had revenue of $17.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.79 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.7%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Marissa Hassen purchased 3,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,193.80. This trade represents a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.20 per share, for a total transaction of $66,000.00. Following the acquisition, the treasurer owned 30,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,306. The trade was a 19.45% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 16,282 shares of company stock valued at $215,485 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 23.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 27,970 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 33,918 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 19.9% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 53,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 8,932 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 89,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 59,777 shares during the period. Finally, Bulldog Investors LLP lifted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 224,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 51,410 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.