Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Rating Increased to Buy at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. B. Riley Financial currently has $13.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CGBD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.80.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

Carlyle Secured Lending stock opened at $11.37 on Wednesday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12-month low of $10.87 and a 12-month high of $18.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $579.42 million, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $66.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.26 million. Equities analysts predict that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.59%.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGBD. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Advisory Research Inc. raised its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 9.2% during the third quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 34,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Carlyle Secured Lending News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carlyle Secured Lending this week:

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley upgraded CGBD from “neutral” to “buy” and set a $13.00 price target (about a mid-teens upside from the recent share level), which can attract buyer interest and support the stock. B. Riley Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share (annualized yield ~14.1%), payable April 16 to holders of record March 31 — a strong income signal that can support demand from yield-focused investors. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the company’s full Q4 2025 earnings call transcript for management commentary on portfolio performance, credit trends and capital allocation — helpful for assessing near-term earnings and dividend sustainability. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CGBD missed Q4 estimates: reported EPS $0.33 vs. consensus $0.38 and revenue ~$66.9M vs. ~$67.3M consensus — an earnings shortfall that likely pressured the stock and raises near-term earnings visibility concerns. Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose materially in February to ~1.13M shares (up ~28.7% vs. Jan 29), representing ~2.2% of shares outstanding and ~1.8 days to cover — higher short activity can add downward pressure and volatility. (Data reported Feb. 13).

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.