Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Up 119.2% in March

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,874,131 shares, a growth of 119.2% from the February 26th total of 1,311,103 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 801,555 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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. Zacks Research upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $49,687.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,275.64. This trade represents a 44.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CGBD. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 428,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,352,000 after purchasing an additional 96,245 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC raised its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 457,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,712,000 after purchasing an additional 206,733 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the fourth quarter worth $285,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 34,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Down 2.1%

NASDAQ CGBD opened at $10.97 on Friday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 1-year low of $10.61 and a 1-year high of $16.92. The company has a market capitalization of $775.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 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 8.56%. The firm had revenue of $66.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.26 million. Equities analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.6%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is currently 156.86%.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

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.