Wall Street Zen Upgrades Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) to Hold

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

NCDL has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded 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 downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $12.14 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $11.97 and a 52-week high of $17.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.25. The firm has a market cap of $599.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $17.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.79 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Marissa Hassen bought 3,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,193.80. This trade represents a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.20 per share, with a total value of $66,000.00. Following the purchase, the treasurer directly owned 30,705 shares in the company, valued at $405,306. This represents a 19.45% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NCDL. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 3.2% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 26,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares in 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.