Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Shares Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) shares were up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.05 and last traded at $12.9950. 252,564 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 179,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NCDL. Zacks Research cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 2.4%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.30. The firm has a market cap of $626.28 million, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company 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 9.80% and a net margin of 29.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

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 $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, VP John Mccally acquired 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.27 per share, for a total transaction of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,301.15. The trade was a 96.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.20 per share, with a total value of $66,000.00. Following the acquisition, the treasurer owned 30,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,306. This trade represents a 19.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 16,282 shares of company stock valued at $215,485 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centurion Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,879,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.9% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after buying an additional 12,646 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 27,970 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 28.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 152,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 33,918 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 19.9% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 53,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 8,932 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.