Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $14.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $717.88 million, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.58. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $18.01.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $51.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.4%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.65%.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.22 per share, with a total value of $284,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,223.74. This trade represents a 71.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction of $74,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the treasurer directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $222,750. This represents a 50.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter worth about $85,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 16.4% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at about $152,000.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. It has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is based in NEW YORK.