Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Down 25.0% in August

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 435,400 shares, a drop of 25.0% from the July 31st total of 580,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 435,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 435,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ CGBD opened at $13.70 on Wednesday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a one year low of $13.12 and a one year high of $18.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $698.11 million, a PE ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.88.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 29.71% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $67.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.53 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.50 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 13,238 shares of Carlyle Secured Lending stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $178,580.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,593 shares in the company, valued at $196,859.57. This trade represents a 47.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thomas M. Hennigan purchased 7,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.75. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 88,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,806.25. The trade was a 8.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGBD. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,916,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,255,000 after buying an additional 44,062 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,158,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,529,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,192,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,383,000 after purchasing an additional 44,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 779,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,665,000 after purchasing an additional 121,686 shares in the last quarter. 24.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

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.