Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,488,734 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the March 15th total of 2,874,131 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 786,565 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CGBD. Wall Street Zen raised Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. B. Riley Financial upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CGBD opened at $11.82 on Friday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12 month low of $10.61 and a 12 month high of $15.15. The company has a market cap of $828.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.06.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $66.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.26 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.5%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is presently 156.86%.

Insider Activity at Carlyle Secured Lending

In related news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $49,687.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,275.64. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 275,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after purchasing an additional 5,054 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the second quarter valued at about $146,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 18.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 779,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,665,000 after acquiring an additional 121,686 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the second quarter valued at about $179,000. Institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

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.