Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Should You Sell?

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) shares traded down 3.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $13.31 and last traded at $13.34. 270,680 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 248,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NCDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 3.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $14.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $657.87 million, a P/E ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 117.65%.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $71,000.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,000. This represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel purchased 20,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.22 per share, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,223.74. The trade was a 71.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have bought 27,000 shares of company stock valued at $383,600. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the first quarter worth $491,000. Adams Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 9.4% in the second quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 90,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 7,757 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,073,000 after acquiring an additional 157,763 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 167,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 10,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 84,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 11,510 shares during the period.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

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.