Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Carlyle Secured Lending Call Options (NASDAQ:CGBD)

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 9,000 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 28,025% compared to the average daily volume of 32 call options.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Down 1.3%

CGBD stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 129,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,890. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 52-week low of $11.65 and a 52-week high of $18.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $602.86 million, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.87.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.61 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is currently 135.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carlyle Secured Lending

In related news, Director John G. Nestor sold 13,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total transaction of $178,580.62. Following the sale, the director owned 14,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,859.57. This trade represents a 47.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thomas M. Hennigan acquired 7,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,216,806.25. This trade represents a 8.97% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CGBD shares. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.50 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carlyle Secured Lending has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.58.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc is business development company specializing in first lien debt, senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loan unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. It targets healthcare and pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, high tech industries, business services, software, beverage food and tobacco, hotel gamming and leisure, banking finance insurance and in real estate sector.