Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.40.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NCDL shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NCDL stock opened at $13.09 on Tuesday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a twelve month low of $12.54 and a twelve month high of $17.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $646.32 million, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 31.57%.The firm had revenue of $26.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.0%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is presently 137.40%.

Insider Transactions at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Director Mat Linett purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.05 per share, with a total value of $26,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,263.25. This represents a 23.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $65,650.00. Following the purchase, the treasurer owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,250. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 47,547 shares of company stock worth $635,105. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after purchasing an additional 709,727 shares during the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $7,374,000. Ares Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 360,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,813,000 after buying an additional 235,674 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 213.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 339,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,535,000 after buying an additional 231,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,192,000 after buying an additional 196,956 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.