Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE NCDL opened at $12.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.27. The company has a market capitalization of $597.92 million, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.51. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $11.97 and a 12 month high of $17.11.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.79 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 29.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Mccally purchased 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.27 per share, for a total transaction of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,301.15. This represents a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen acquired 3,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,193.80. This represents a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders acquired 16,282 shares of company stock valued at $215,485. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 26,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 11.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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.