Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Update

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,122,996 shares, a growth of 83.9% from the December 15th total of 610,807 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 572,707 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 572,707 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total value of $84,098.95. Following the sale, the director owned 7,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,119.96. This trade represents a 48.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 517.5% during the fourth quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 111,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 93,731 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 176,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 9,042 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 137.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 16,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CGBD shares. Zacks Research raised Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carlyle Secured Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.33.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Up 2.2%

CGBD stock opened at $12.81 on Thursday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a twelve month low of $11.55 and a twelve month high of $18.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $652.76 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.50 and a 200 day moving average of $13.06.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%.The company had revenue of $66.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.61 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 135.59%.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.