Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.50.

CGBD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 18,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 5,146 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,974 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the first quarter worth about $153,000. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the first quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the first quarter worth about $110,000. 24.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

CGBD opened at $10.64 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.80. The firm has a market cap of $739.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.62. Carlyle Secured Lending has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $14.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $64.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.78 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 225.35%.

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.