Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NCDL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

NYSE:NCDL opened at $12.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $617.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.28. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $11.97 and a fifty-two week high of $17.11.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business 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%. Research analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, VP John Mccally acquired 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.27 per share, with a total value of $99,525.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,301.15. This trade represents a 96.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen purchased 3,782 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,193.80. This represents a 63.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,192,000 after buying an additional 196,956 shares during the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $7,374,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,271,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 479,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,395,000 after acquiring an additional 60,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 454.3% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 150,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 123,327 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.